ASSAGAO: Concerned over the contamination and irreversible damage by the septic tanks constructed by multi-dwelling projects being built in close proximity to the Oxel Spring, the health officer of the Primary Health Centre, Siolim along with the Oxel panchayat members will conduct a joint inspection at 11 am on Saturday, July 6.
The inspection has been fixed following a complaint filed by 219 residents from Oxel and Marna villages, who are seeking recognition to this medicinal spring and also to declare the spring as a heritage wetland area.
The Oxel residents have been demanding an immediate stop to all construction activities going on in the vicinity of the spring and to carry out demolition and restoration of the land to its original state. The residents had further charged that the alleged illegal projects fall within the riparian flow of the spring water and its catchment area.
Among others, the locals had submitted several written representations to the Oxel village panchayat, water resources department (WRD), PWD, deputy town planner, Mapusa and the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, but to no avail.
Earlier, Oxel sarpanch Reshal Arporkar had openly declared at the Save Oxel Spring protest meet that she would issue stop work order and withdraw all permissions granted to the multi-dwelling projects close to Oxel heritage spring and even conducted an inspection that revealed road width was around four metres as against the mandatory minimum six metres later only to backout on her commitment to save the heritage spring on some pretext or the other.
