PANJIM/CURCHOREM: The fish deaths in a rivulet adjoining the Curchorem-Cacora Solid Waste Management (SWM) treatment plant were caused by sludge stored in the open, which was swept into the rivulet by rain.
“The sludge should be covered properly, and there should be proper drainage and a collection place,” the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) told O Heraldo.
GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil said, “My team is investigating the matter. The preliminary report states that sludge stored in the area was not covered, and during the rains, it flowed into the stream. When organic load goes into the water, oxygen gets reduced, causing fish mortality.”
According to Patil, it was purely a question of poor housekeeping. The sludge should not have been exposed to the vagaries of the rains and should have been properly covered.
The GSPCB team of junior environment engineers visited the site on Wednesday and began investigations into the fish deaths. The team collected samples of water and dead fish for further investigation, after which the reason for the fish deaths will be known. Uday Deikar, a local correspondent, said that the GSPCB officials conducted investigations for nearly three hours and collected samples of water both inside the compound of the SWM plant at Cacora and from the stream. They also took samples of dead fish.
According to Deikar, the locals used to eat the freshwater fish from the rivulet, but following the incident of several dead fish, they were panicked.
Recently, a large quantity of dead fish was washed ashore at Velsao beach in Mormugao taluka on two occasions, threatening the livelihoods of traditional fishermen. The GSPCB team later found that a nearby chemical factory had allegedly discharged effluent into the sea through a pipeline.
