Team Herald
VASCO: It appears that Khariwado beach in Vasco has become a safe destination for all types of waste, as after garbage and wood chips, tar balls have now washed ashore, triggering anger amongst the local fishing community.
According to Custodio D’ Souza, president of Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owner’s Cooperative Society (OCFCOCS), the fishing community of Khariwado is irked by the large tar balls that have washed ashore. He said that this happened every year, leaving the fishermen to face hardships.
“We were shocked to find a large number of tar balls on the Khariwado shore, which we cleaned just eight days back without taking help from anyone. We suspect that some ships in anchorage or vessels visiting the Mormugao Port Trust discharged oil into the sea and the same has washed ashore in the form of tar balls. Sadly, even after intimating the authorities in the morning, no one has turned up to take stock of the situation,” said D’Souza.
OCFCOCS member Gracious Coutinho stated, “Earlier, it was garbage from MPT, and then it was woodchips, and now tar balls. We feel that the MPT is treating the Khariwado shore as a dumping yard for its waste. We can clear garbage and woodchips, but we cannot clear tar balls, which are affecting our operations and severely affecting the environment, especially the marine life on which the fishing community depends. We will not allow this menace to continue. The authorities should take immediate steps to find the source of the oil, failing which we might even come onto the streets.”
Meanwhile, the fishermen also suspect that some of the ‘tar balls’ that washed ashore could be coal or coke.
“The dark substance that washed ashore at Khariwado beach also appears to be of coal or coke, which is being unloaded at the Mormugao port by the two coal-handling companies. Scientists and officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board should take stock of the situation and send a notice to the MPT to investigate the same,” said a fisherman.
