Team Herald
VASCO: Venting anger on Mormugao Port authorities for presenting incomplete and contradictory draft EIA report prepared without proper study, all the citizens who expressed their views during sixth day of public hearing on Wednesday rejected the proposal to dredge approach channel by MPT.
The hearing which stated at 10.30 am had to be stopped at 5 pm following request from the citizens to adjourned the hearing due to the feast mass at Old cross chapel in Khariwado. The Presiding officer has now adjourned the public hearing for Thursday.
Speakers while expressing their views on the capital dredging proposal claimed that the same would be disastrous as it would not only have severe impact on marine environment but also feared that it would lead to massive erosion all along the coast, besides severe impact on the livelihood of fishermen community.
A fishermen Jacinto D’ Souza from Khariwado said, “Several years ago the fishermen from Khariwado were having good fish catch however it has declined today due to maintenance dredging by the MPT. Now if MPT takes up capital dredging then there would be high impact on fishing as well as all those houses located along Khariwado and Baina coast besides other coasts in Goa would naturally collapse due to erosion. How can MPT be allowed to create such massive destruction” he questioned.
Social activist John Fernandes while raising a point of order said, “The environmental public hearing is being conducted in an impartial manner as the presiding officer has failed to maintain the rules by issuing limited time to some people at the environmental public hearing. This is unconstitutional and against the democratic right of the people”.
RTI activist Avinash Tavares alleged that the project proponent have not done a proper study of the seabed due to capital dredging. While referring to different scientific studies on impact of dredging conducted in India he further said that, “The cracks in the road at Headland, Sada are caused due to a phenomena called “Liquefaction” where an inner layer of the ground gets saturated when exposed to water and behaves like a liquid. Dredging destabilises the top layer of earth and that tends to break away and slide. Also earthquakes accelerate this problem. Even though MPT denied Goa is earthquake prone, I have different data to prove that several earthquakes ranging from 6.3 to 2 on Richter scale have been reported in Goa in past. Dredging will destabilise Sada plateau because of the weak river bed,” he said.
He further also highlighted salt water intrusion based on the study done in past. He said that no one wants MPT to shut down its operations but people want non- pollution operations. “Just close down all hazardous and polluting cargo handling and make it an entire cruise berth. MPT doesn’t want cruise liner because they charge just Rs 5 lakh and bulk carriers pay Rs 15 lakh” he said.
To this MPT officials present during the public hearing claimed they will handle cruise liners as well; however in reply Tavares alleged that MPT has been harassing cruise liners by demanding bribes. “Cruiseliner “Royal Carribean” never wants to come here again. Last time it came in December, it parked at berth 10. The guests were treated to ugly sights of coal and woodchip handling. They don’t come to Goa to see coal. Also one ship stays at least for 8 hours carrying 3000 passengers. Even if 2000 of them spend Rs 1000 in Goa the state will get a revenue of Rs 20 lakh per cruiseliner per day. MPT never did such a comparative study of alternatives as required by EIA”, he said.
