PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board has inspected around 12 iron ore-laden riverside jetties across the State to ensure there are no run-offs. The board appeared satisfied with the precautionary measures taken by jetty operators.
Currently, three million metric tons of ore is stacked at the jetties, while another one million metric tons has been e-auctioned.
Speaking to media persons, GSPCB chairman Jose Manual Noronha said that the Board inspected 12 jetties across the state and was satisfied with precautionary measures adopted by jetty operators. He said inspections were carried out at those jetties where jetty operators had applied for Consent to Operate.
“We are satisfied with the precautions taken by the jetty operators. All of them have constructed garland drains around the pile of ore and at the end of it there is a settling pond which stops water from flowing into the river,” he said.
Noronha said that the ore stacks are covered by silpaulin and there are filters to ensure that the ore doesn’t run off into the river. “The washed off ore is not hazardous for the water bodies (rivers), but could lead to siltation, marginal pollution and increased manganese content,” he said. The 0.3 per milligram is a permissible content of iron ore in water. Directorate of Mines and Geology in the past had expressed the department’s helplessness in protecting the stacked ore from running off.
