MARGAO, SEPT 6
South Goa District Collector, G P Naik has sought a detailed report from the Tourism Department on the plan of action to lift away tar balls collected at various locations along Salcete’s coastal belt.
The report has been asked for after Deputy Collector, Margao Johnson Fernandes toured the entire coastal belt – right from Cavelossim to Velsao – to find out the ground situation vis-à-vis the tar balls.
After touring the entire coastline, the deputy Collector has briefed the district Collector this evening and is believed to have underlined the need to lift away and dispose off the tar balls collected on the shore.
The deputy collector, however, is reported to have told the Collector that the situation is not alarming as is made out, especially on the Cavelossim-Colva belt. It was only in Velsao that the tar balls menace was visible, prompting the district collector to seek a detailed report from the Tourism Department.
Collector’s decision to deputy the deputy collector, Margao to have a first hand look at the situation along the coastal belt came after a delegation of the Villagers of Goa called on him and complained of the lackadaisical attitude of the various agencies in dealing with the tar ball menace.
The village groups sought to know from the district Collector the steps taken by the district Disaster Management Authority to tackle the menace on the South Goa beaches.
Representatives of the village groups pointed out that though its nearly a week since the tar balls surfaced on the beaches, the authorities have not been prompt in lifting away the oily substance.
John Philip Pereira later told newsmen that the Collector has told them that the Tourism Department has agreed to clear the tar balls from the beaches. They, however, demanded to know the time frame wherein the tar balls will be lifted away and disposed off scientifically.
