Team Herald
MARGAO: Locals from Cuncolim held a protest on Sunday outside the Cuncolim Industrial Estate (CIE) and issued an ultimatum of 15 days to the State government to come up with a permanent solution to the problems they are facing due to the pollution emanating from CIE or will launch an agitation.
The locals accused the government authorities of playing a game of hide- - and- seek. To explain their analogy, they lamented that after they make some noise on the ground, the authorities visit and then some action is taken but that after a few days, the same alleged polluting factories are back in operation.
They complained that the water of the town is so polluted that it has already caused health hazards to the local residents as well as farmers, who are having skin issues when they step into the fields.
The locals also recalled that during the previous tenure of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, when former BJP legislator Clafasio Dias was the Cuncolim MLA, Sawant had visited CIE and said that within 3 months’ time, the problems would be solved and reports would be handed over to the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC).
They questioned why there is still no Effluent Treatment Plant at CIE and who is monitoring the pollution levels.
While they acknowledged recent measures taken following the inspection by Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and present Cuncolim MLA Yuri Alemao, they reiterated that the need of the hour is a permanent stop to all the contributing factors to the legacy pollution issues of CIE.