-------------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help others be BETTER INFORMED ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC) Email: [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- The Ecological Tragedy of River Sal - Part II -----------------------------------------------------
by NANDKUMAR KAMAT If Egypt is the gift of the Nile River, Salcete is a gift of the Sal River. The North-South drainage basin of the Sal River is included in the major watershed 5B1B1 of Goa which also include Agonda, Canacona, Talpona, Galjibaga and Loliem rivers. Tragically the last three rivers are dying too. At least a quarter of the geographical area of Salcete taluka has been artificially engineered to create fertile Khazan (saline) agro-ecosystems and a sustainable productive matrix of well laid out saltpans. This is mostly visible on the Eastern riverbank. The network of creeks in Eastern Salcete bears the stamp of meticulous hydro engineering. Such works were executed by the 'bhous' the association of farmers, now extinct. The saltpans were built below the normal flood plain of the river and were engineered to receive the saline water withincoming tides due to simple gravity flow. The saltpans had triple functions - during the monsoon, act as reservoirs for the monsoon land runoff and serve as nursery for fish and shellfish and produce salt during summer. In the age of alternative energy and biotechnology it could have two more additional functions - generation of electric power and production of economically useful seaweeds, algae, bio-fertilisers and marine chemicals. The saltpans on the Eastern banks of Salcete are Goa's unrecognised marine chemical, biomass and bio energy factories. It needs some imagination and technology to tap their unreleased potential. But the people and the village panchayats of Salcete have not paid adequate attention to these centuries old ecological and economic assets. Eastern Salcete would get flooded if these saltpans were filled and reclaimed. Salcete has already lost many large saltpans. Saltpans in Sirlim, Chinchinim, Assolna and Cavellosim have been overgrown with mangroves and weeds. Their neglect speaks volumes about the economic tragedy associated with the River Sal's ecological tragedy. The remaining saltpans numbering more than 200 bear witness to a tragic phase in systematic and socially sanctified dismantling of traditional, sustainable employment-oriented village production systems. A saltpan is not a glorified saline pool. It is also a productive economic system. Our studies in Merces, North Goa had shown that a hectare of a saltpan, which can employ five people, yields a profit of Rs 1.5 lakhs for a production period of 120 days. At this rate we can say that Salcete has lost a profit potential of Rs five crores per year and an employment of 1500 people. There was no patronage for salt producers of Salcete. The Luso-Anglo treaty of 1878 attempted to kill Goa's salt industry. Originally at least 21 villages in Salcete produced high quality salt. The number of salt producing villages came down to 17 after the Second World War. The salt from Salcete used to be exported to markets in Deccan via the Dighi ghat. Ships from Assolna and Betul used to take it as far as Sri lanka, Burma and Eastern Africa. Today, the salt industry of Salcete is dead. There is a net sectoral labour shift. People have switched to lucrative employment opportunities in tourism. New conflicts over sharing of fisheries resources have emerged. Without understanding the role of Sal River in enriching the coastal waters of Salcete benefiting the fisheries, liberal permissions were granted for mechanised trawlers. Today, River Sal bears the brunt of pollution from oil, grease and other petroleum hydrocarbons. There is an age-old atrophic connection between nutrient flow and fish breeding cycles. The vast basin of the river emptied the organic nutrients in the channel during the monsoon. A variety of fish and shellfish thrived on this rich organic nutrient flux. That enriched the fish population. Post monsoon, the traditional coastal fishermen used to land bumper catches of mackerels and sardines. A quarter century ago the mackerels of Colva - 'Colvecho rampanicho bangdo' was very famous for its size, colour and taste. Old timers would recall a catch of thousands of mackerels in a single operation. It would take 50 to 100 people to drag the beach net - the rampon, bursting at the seams due to the massive catch. Today, there is a fish famine in the coastal waters of Salcete and the Colva mackerels are a rare sight. It directly points to mismanagement of the Sal Rivers' nutrient budget and over fishing in the common harvesting zone. The cutting of the once vegetated hills of Verna, Nuvem, Cortalim and Sancoale loosened the topsoil. This resulted in heavier sediment flux in the feeding streams of the Sal River. At many points between Verna to Margao the channel of the river is not recognisable. People, farmers, developers have taken liberties to play with the original course of the river. The government authorities duty bound to protect all water bodies in the state from encroachments and violation did not maintain vigilance. Many streams from the area surrounding Margao join the Sal River. There were at least eight major drains in Margao, which discharged into Sal River. In the low-lying old Market area of Margao the entire drainage system depends on the maintenance of the streams from Ravindra Bhavan to Mungul and Souza bakery to Chafadkars' house. Both these streams, which are now converted into 'nallahs', join the Sal River near Mungul. Further the fate of the low-lying areas of Margao depends on desilting of the stretch from Mungul to Khareband. This area is heavily urbanised and severely polluted. While reclaiming the paddy fields for construction of the bus stand and new market, the government failed to take into consideration the future drainage requirements. There was no control over the heavy sediment load flowing in Mungul streams. During the construction of the underground sewerage system the original drainage pattern was completely destroyed. Khareband outfall is key to the drainage management of heavily urbanised Margao city because there is no other alternative natural outlet to drain the storm waters of the monsoon. The thickly populated heritage ward of Comba, Margao also depends on the health of the Sal River because people still use the traditional wells for meeting their water needs. But the pollution of Sal River is now showing its' presence in the wells in Comba ward. The Sal River at Khareband shows the same character as Panaji's heavily polluted and eutrophicated Santa Inez creek. This is not merely a coincidence. Urbanisation in Goa has followed a self-destructive trajectory at the cost of natural life support systems. The Sal River between Khareband to Assolna and Cuncolim to Betul can still provide an important passenger and freight transportation corridor linking the less affluent but natural resources rich hinterland of Southeastern Goa to the affluent coast. But the ancient role of the river as a transportation corridor has been forgotten (to be continued). -------------------------------------- The Navhind Times 13/4/09 page 10 -------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK ----------------------------------------------------------- promoting civic and consumer rights in Goa ----------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto: [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------
