Team Herald
PANJIM: As the world celebrates the World Water Day on Monday, Goa recently had a round table on road map ahead for “sustenance of water bodies in Goa”, which discussed on how to conserve and save water bodies in the State.
The speakers which included Srikant Mutnuri, Head Department of Biological Science – BITS Goa, Sandeep Nadkarni, expert and retired Chief Engineer at the Water Resource Department, Pradeep SarmoKadam, Member Secretary Goa Biodiversity and Milind Ramani, Architect mentioned that Goa receives a bountiful supply of rainfall of an average of 3000 mm annually. However the same is restricted for four months in a year. Hence, water stresses are experienced in the months of April, May due to wastefulness and burn off.
In the post monsoon period, the effluent river flows start dwindling. Most of the rivers in Goa are Intermittent Rivers. All the rivers in the state are prone to tidal effects and salinity almost 50 per cent of its length. Hence water is not potable. Through the aquifers get recharged, the migration of ground water is also very fast, resulting in temporal depletion of ground water tables. The major storage schemes fall in reserve forests or wild life sanctuaries.
A road map was drawn during the deliberation and categorise in three parts. Firstly the government should launch more micro-watershed development program, Scheme for RWH and decentralisation sanitation related cluster schemes. Also, look into regulations and amendments in the laws pertaining to this issue. A robust collaborative scheme with local stakeholders for maintenance of water bodies is absolutely essential for saving the water bodies.
Creating interactive cells in WRD and Agriculture Departments for active interactions with stakeholders, resolving issues by signing MoUs with Agriculture/ Technical Institutions for optimal sustenance and focus on decentralisation of sewage treatment the source rather than centralized sewage system is required, the experts felt.
Corporate too have the role to play felt the experts and opined that incentives and awards for green initiatives business and to bring more affordable nature based solutions with based on proven life cycle assessment is required. Under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate can indulge in pooling capital for major repairs, improvement of the water body hand holding with stake-holders in management etc. along with providing improved techniques with inputs from agricultural and technical institutions use of some water bodies for other uses with approvals.
Pradip SarmoKadam stressed on decentralised treatment of sewage is more effective and less expensive than centralised sewage system. While Subrai Nadkarni said that it is important to stop encroachment and pollution of water bodies with support from local stakeholders and repair, maintain water bodies through CSR.
Srikanth Mutnuri explained that biological treatment requires less energy, lower cost and is closer to nature. Milind Ramani felt that proper zoning and incentivising the industry can go a long way in seeing results on the ground. Chairman of Goa State Pollution Control Board Mahesh Patil said, “I am happy with this initiative by EP Kamat Group and GSPCB will be more than happy to partner and participate with such initiative for environment protection.”
The programme which was organised by the EP Kamat Group as also attended by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who said that it was a serious issue and it needed to be deliberated upon.
