PANJIM: Though various efforts have been made to desilt and beautify the rotting St Inez creek, it appears that the cleanliness of Panjim’s main artery will only remain a distant dream and residents keep wondering whether it will ever see the light of the day.
While residents of the capital city are experiencing harrowing time due to the roads dug as per the ongoing Smart City projects, the foul smell emanating from the creek right from Camrabhat to Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) office has made their lives more miserable.
Sanjay Mayenkar, a resident of St Inez said, “The work has been done under the Smart City projects but they never took locals into confidence. We need cleanliness. There is a big mafia involved. The sewage from Calangute is brought to the sewage treatment plant at Tonca. The sewage is released but authorities claim that it gets released by mistake. But we face a problem. We may develop beautiful roads but if the sewage system is not proper, then we cannot breathe clean air.
The government is aware of everything and we are not supposed to speak. When we travel in the city, it appears that we are travelling in Bihar.”
Bablu, a chicken shop owner in the same locality, said, “The water was so black for the three years when the Smart City work had started on the stretch. The water is so contaminated that it resembles black paint. The release of sewage water has only aggravated the situation.”
Environmentalist Vishal Rawlley said, “Crores of rupees have been spent on concretising the creek. We have a concrete bank which has already destroyed the water body and converted it into a ‘nallah’. In the process, the creek has been made narrower. They have constructed a bridge at the mouth of the creek with footing inside the water. Huge concrete blocks have been put inside the water to completely suffocate it at the mouth itself. So basically it is a recipe to kill the creek. It is a completely unscientific design and environmentally thoughtless. This is the consequence of what we are facing today. After all this concretisation, we have a sewer line, very well demarcated, glamourised sewer line going through the city of Panjim.”
“Their promises and the deadline are getting extended for the last 10 years, if not more. Contractors and politicians have made their buck on it. They have put as much concrete as they can pour in it. They have done as much beautification as they could do with it. They have completely converted the natural water body into a drain. This is the death of the St Inez creek and it is very sad and lamentable. We all are participating in the death because all our tax money has gone into it. They are making us accomplices into the mass murder of the creek. It is a very sorry state of affairs. Now after spending an astronomical amount of money, we have glamorized the sewer line flowing through the heart of Panjim city,” Rowlley said.
When contacted, Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP) Commissioner Clen Madeira said the work of desilting the creek is being carried out by the Water Resources Department (WRD).
WRD executive engineer Nazareth Vaz said, “Desilting work is almost over. Only some part of it near the Inox Multiplex needs to be completed. By March, the entire work is expected to be completed. Mud has been removed using an amphibious machine. Retaining walls also have been built at most of the places. Some parts are left. At Tonca, some land is owned by private parties and it is difficult to convince them to part with their holdings.”
“Retaining walls have been constructed at most of the places right from Taleigao to Inox but as all land does not belong to the government, it is taking time,” Vaz said adding, “Once I get the NOC, then only I will be able to get the work done.”
The desilting work was given to the Water Resources Department (WRD) in 2021 and the work started in the early 2022. The cost of the project is approximately Rs 37 crore.
Vaz said some issues were faced while carrying out the desilting work as the St Inez area is congested. Five aerators will be installed in the St Inez creek to improve its water quality, he added.
According to Vaz, the water has become so contaminated that some of the workers engaged by the WRD became sick while carrying out the desilting work. The contractor had changed workers frequently as many of them were finding it difficult to report for work.
“Conditions are very challenging as mud is soft and water flows continuously. It is a composite work. However, we have completed the work,” Vaz said.
