MAPUSA: The rise in dumping of garbage in the Tar River at Mapusa, has enraged locals leading to growing frustration over the growing accumulation of waste in the water body. The river which is of ecological significance to the area has now been virtually reduced to a dump yard.
Tar River is considered as the holy river in Mapusa and immersion of Ganesh idols are done here.
Now the plight of the river has deteriorated so extensively that people not only dump their household waste but even miscreants consume alcohol in the vicinity and fling bottles in the water.
During Ganesh Chaturthi, the river and its entire surrounding area is cleaned for the celebration. Rest of the days, the area is littered with garbage. Burnt books, photographs of Gods, broken idols, dry waste, flowers, plastic, etc are seen on the bank of the river. According to locals, someone allegedly set the garbage on fire as a result, holy books and idols were also destroyed.
“Today when I visited the Tar River which we consider holy as we do Ganesh immersion here, I saw the river and the bank flooded with garbage, plastic and household waste. It is very disheartening to see the filth in this river. There is a banyan tree here and under which there is a huge pile of garbage. Today I noticed that someone burnt the garbage, due to which all the holy books and idols have been destroyed. I think this is the result of Mapusa Municipality’s negligence in addressing this issue” lamented a local.
Despite installing a signboard warning the public regarding the consequences of their actions, the garbage menace is never-ending. The sign board states that alcohol consumption and garbage dumping are strictly prohibited and if anyone is caught doing so then a fine ranging from Rs 1,000 up to Rs 5,000 will be imposed on the perpetrators.
The locals of Mapusa battling this rising issue have urged the authorities to take stringent action and provide relief to the public over the garbage menace.
