CoP to dredge River Sal

The panchayat of Cavelossim in Goa allowed the Captain of Ports (CoP) to dredge the mouth of River Sal in order to facilitate movement of boats.

CoP said it received a proposal from Cutbona trawler and boat owners to dredge the river mouth for a better navigational channel.

This follows the complaint of small boat owners that the ever-increasing sandbar at the mouth of the river made the movement of their boats very difficult, and was preventing them from coming from and going to sea.

Boat owners complained that they could not come to the river with small boats, and that even water sports operators were getting stuck, and thus, this work has to be done.

At the recent Cavelossim gram sabha, the panchayat decided to give the requisite NOC to the Captain of Ports (CoP) to carry out dredging of the river.

At a previously held special gram sabha recently, villagers had told CoP officials not to go ahead with the dredging project till all stakeholders submit a detailed report, including an environment impact assessment (EIA).

It is important that the work is done properly and a permanent solution is sought, as the government should not be spending money every year as they normally just remove the mud which is a temporary measure and after a month or so the mud accumulates again, some villagers said.