MARCOS GONSALVES
marcos@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Due to no seriousness towards putting a break to the release of raw sewage water into River Sal, has now raised its ugly head, as several aqua farms located in Salcete are getting polluted resulting in severe impact on production of shrimps and other fish species.
Shockingly, many have already shut down their farm operations and others are in serious thoughts to decide upon.
Herald reveals that the government and the concerned authorities have even failed to study the ground reality in order to put in place a mechanism to stop the deliberate release of raw sewage by unknown into the River Sal.
Even the Goa State Pollution Control Board and district authority failed to show some seriousness in the matter.
Recently, Team Herald visited several farms involved in shrimp farming on the edge of River Sal for the last several years, and surprisingly every owner of the farm complained about the raw sewage flowing into the river and making entry into their farms, affecting the shrimp cultivation.
The farmers have further expressed fear of losing their business within the next two years of time, if the release of sewage into the river doesn’t stop immediately.
It is pertinent to note that early Herald had also highlighted the issue of traditional fishermen engaged in the shellfish fishing activities, and they too had complained about the pollution of River Sal.
Speaking to Herald Isac Da Costa, who is the aquafarmer for the last several decades, has expressed fear of losing the business.
“All the sewage flowing into the River Sal has now started to create hazards in our farms. It is polluting our farms and as a result the cultivation of shrimps is affected very badly,” he stated.
He further said that shrimps need a good quality of water, as everything is fully dependent on it.
“This is the first time we the farm owners are facing a tough time to deal with the issues related to water, and it has affected our earnings. Days are not far. All the farms located on the edge of River Sal will see pollution and nothing else,” Isac said.
Aurovil Furtado from Orlim is another aqua farm owner facing a tough time to tackle the pollution in the farm as a result of sewage flowing into the River Sal.
“Our farms are affected very much due to the pollution into the river. And day by day it is getting worse,” he complained.
He further said, “The government and the concerned authorities seem to be so careless that they are allowing the river to be polluted deliberately.”
“Our production of shrimps has been reduced drastically. We are now afraid to invest. Many farmers are already facing hardships to bring the quality seeds from Chennai keeping in mind the bad quality of water in our farms, which is the result of pollution into the river,” Aurovil said.
There are nearly 15 aqua farm owners who are very much active in this business in Salcete. However, many have shut down their operations, as they cannot manage to suffer more losses.
Anil Furtado from Carmona informed that he has noticed a black colour layer in the water in recent times.
“It has become very difficult to carry on with the farming of shrimps and fish varieties due to the conditions of water getting polluted on a daily basis. We have also noticed seeds dying due to the sewage water entering the farm through the river,” Anil said.
