PONDA: People in Ponda were shocked to see muddy water flowing through their taps on Monday and Tuesday and suspected that some mining plants were clandestinely releasing slurry in the Khandepar River.
Locals say that it hasn’t rained for the past few days but muddy water flowing through the Khandepar River has been a cause of concern for locals in Ponda on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The water of Khandepar is basically used for domestic and irrigation purposes but as it passes through the mining belt, the effluents get mixed in it.
The Opa Water Treatment Plant situated at Khandepar in Ponda Taluka meets the water needs of Ponda and Tiswadi and releases 170 MLD treated water and its main supply is the River Khandepar which originates from Karnataka and flows through the Dudhsagar Falls.
With the rising number of townships in the taluka and growing number of consumers, the demand for water has been on the sharp rise.
While the locals in Ponda complained of receiving muddy water on eve of Ganesh Chaturthi, the officials quickly attributed it to the heavy rains in Karnataka.
However, people firmly believed that it was mining slurry that was the cause of the muddy water being supplied to them and refused to buy the theories of the officials and added that this was the fourth time such dirty water was flowing from their taps.
Environmentalist Sandeep Parkar from Khandepar said, “Muddy is water often released on a Friday and reaches Opa either on a Saturday or Sunday when the office of the Goa State Pollution Control Board is closed for the weekend and the wrongdoers are let off the leash.”
Parkar suspected that a mineral company in Kodali was releasing waste as people were busy in Ganesh Chaturthi preparations and demanded that the government officials conduct an inquiry after surveying the river bank to inspect the site and initiate action against the violators of the law.
