SANGUEM: An unoperational mining pit at Avalimoll in Netravali village of Sanguem taluka is fast emerging to be a serious to health as it has become a final resting place for discarded cucumbers which are now rotting and the emergent fluid is flowing into the nearby river.
Panchayat member Rakhi Naik taking cognisance of the threat has asked for a thorough enquiry how this situation arose and also demanded stringent action against the person or persons responsible for it.
Mystery shrouds the dumping of cucumbers in this abandoned pit. While some including Rakhi Naik accuse the Horticulture Corporation of doing it, the corporation vehemently deny the charge and assert that they have nothing to do with it.
Rakhi says this has happened because of corrupt practices adopted by the Corporation who source vegetables from outside Goa while ignoring the local produce.
Netravali village has many farmers growing vegetables like cucumbers. In fact in the ward Kazur which has hilly terrain, there are around 100 farmers cultivating cucumbers.
Usually farmers sell their cucumber produce to the Horticulture Corporation, which in turn sells them through their vegetable outlets across the State.
Significantly, last year as the Horticulture Corporation refused to purchase the slightly overgrown cucumbers from farmers, they took it up with the authorities and the corporation was asked to purchase the cucumbers.
However, this year there was no such incident as the Corporation purchased the cucumbers without any objection. But what was done with those cucumbers remains a mystery and it is believed that the same were dumped in the abandoned mining pit.
Following protests by the locals Sanguem Mamlatdar ordered a site inspection which was done by Talathi Sushant Dessai today. He said he will submit his report to the Mamlatdar.
Meanwhile Rakhi asserted that this was a serious matter as the fluid from this rotting mass of cucumbers flows into the nearby river which ultimately feeds the Selaulim water reservoir.
