TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Urging the government to withdraw the mechanized beach cleaning proposal with immediate effect, the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott has said that ramponkars will oppose the use of mechanized cleaning machines on the beaches of Goa.
In a press communiqué issued here, GRE alleged that the use of such machines will damage “all forms of life present in the sand dunes and also ultimately flatten the sand dunes, thereby causing irreparable loss to our eco system.” joint general secretary of GRE, Olencio Simoes said adding that the machines will pose a threat to several plants and other species that stabilize the shifting of sand dunes.
“The sea turtles use beaches as their nesting sites for incubation of their eggs. Without nesting sites, it would be impossible for these sea turtles to complete their life cycle, as they lay large clutches of eggs in shallow pits of sand where the young turtles mature,” he argued adding that heavy cleaning machinery will damage the beach completely, thus causing irreversible damage to our ecology and various species’ of life.
President of GRE Agnelo Rodrigues lambasted the fisheries and the tourism departments for their lack of knowledge about certain environmental and aqua marine facts.
“It is but common sense, that any such heavy machinery shall damage the beach bed. So why is the government resorting to such wasteful expenditures at the cost of rich and diverse ecology” he asked even as he criticized the expenditure saying: “We have seen the state of those sweeping machines, which were bought in to sweep our roads. Those beach sweeping machines shall face the same fate, thereby wasting away precious tax payer’s money.”
Olencio explained that several species of crustaceans which live on the beach will sooner or later, get displaced by the noise and frequent movement of the machines. “Besides the crab species, insects are also present at virtually all beaches and provide important ecosystem functions such as breaking down organic matter, nutrient cycling, and serving as food sources, which will also get displaced with the weight and the filtering process of the machine,” he said.
Rodrigues also pulled up the government arguing that it “should first control dumping of garbage and discharging of sewage into the sea by taking hoteliers and shack owners into custody for constant violation along the coast of south and north Goa and provide dustbins all over the beaches of Goa, and then think of using such unviable and ecologically destructive machinery.”
