Cavelossim: In a unique attempt to put South Goa premier beach stretch on the world map, locals living across the coastal belt and tourists got together for a beach walk aimed at recognising the beach as the longest one in Asia.
On Thursday, Lions Club of Cavelossim organized a South Goa beach walk. The walk, which started at the mouth of River Sal (Mobor), and ended at Dando (Velsao) with a total distance of approximately 26 km, was carried out to raise awareness of issues that affect the people living in the coastal areas, in addition to recognizing the beach as the longest beach in South Asia. It may be noted that at the edge of the Mobor Peninsula River Sal meets Arabian Sea and the peninsula is formed by the confluence of the passage of river flowing into the sea.
“The walk was attended by an enthusiastic group of young and the old, who were all committed to the conservation of our delicate eco-systems. The tired but happy group completed the entire walk in 9 hours. The focus of the walk was also to raise awareness on soil erosion, indiscriminate discharge of plastic in our sea and to protect marine life like dolphins and with special emphasis on endangered species like Olive Ridley Turtles,” said noted photographer Cajetan Barreto who helped in documenting the event.
“Global warming has drastically affected our coastline. On this beach walk, the most important thing that the walkers noticed was the erosion that’s happening at a gargantuan pace, which could have an impact on settlements along the coast line. But the silver lining is ” the fir trees planted by the social forestry department way back in the ’70s are fighting a battle against erosion.” Could this be one of the solutions for the future? That’s for the environmentalist to study. Also local vegetation like creepers are holding out to the onslaught of the Sea,” said Bosco Rodrigues, member of Lions Club of Cavelossim.
Jesus D’costa former Panch of Cavelossim and a fisherman said, “I was quite taken aback by the debris left by temporary establishments on the beach. I saw sharp wooden stumps protruding from the sand which were remnants of some structure on the beach. This is so dangerous and has to be immediately dismantled. Also all Panchayats from Cavelossim to Velsao should take steps or apprise the government of Goa to initiate measures to stop the erosion of the beaches. I was quite happy to see the measures taken on Betalbatim beach, but which could be done in a better way so that fishermen are not affected.”
The walk that began at 8 am from the mouth of River Sal at Mobor beach saw a lot of tourists and locals from the other beach villages of Cavelossim, Orlim,Varca Colva and Benaulim join in along the way till the end at Velsao.
