Team Herald
MARGAO: Huge amounts of sewage and filth are being unloaded into the sea from the Colva creek since the rains began.
The restaurants and hotels operating along the creek have been disposing sewage into the creek. Local NGOs allege that the Pollution Control Board doesn’t even bother to curb the mess.
Heavy rains last week and on Friday disposed tonnes of sewage into the sea which kept the tourists away from the Colva beach. Smell of the sewage had spread all over the area. Pollution Control Board, local MLA, Tourism Minister and almost all the authorities have utterly failed to control the outflow and preserve the pristine nature of the beach and the sea.
The Colva creek was a natural storm water channel 25 years back. But with the advent of tourism at Colva, it saw many small shops converted into large restaurants by the side of the creek that discharge a lot of sewage and garbage into the creek.
Frustrated with the total failure of the authorities in curbing the menace, the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum said, “Regretfully, despite a PIL 15/2011 in the High Court, we have not succeeded till date in stopping the discharge of raw sewage and waste waters from all the illegally constructed hotels and restaurants along the creek.”
The Goa State Pollution Control Board had sealed 13 hotels for discharging sewage into the Colva creek but the hotels got immediate relief within one hour of the sealing.
Local businessmen say that this is becoming an eyesore and a downside for the Colva beach nowadays.
