The Editor Herald Panjim Goa. Sir,
In the news report by PTI, Mumbai, Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said the Law demands that the "polluters must pay up" (Herald, 15 Aug) in reference to oil slick caused due to collision of the two ships off the Mumbai coast. He further stated that "The Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board are talking to law firms to file a case against the Shipping Companies involved. He also said the Government is in the process of assessing the environmental losses and also planning to compensate the fishermen who got affected. In line with the above, why not Salgaonkars also should be paying for the disaster and loss caused due stranding of "River Princess" off the coast at Candolim? The same law must be applied and demand from Salgaonkars to compensate for every loss caused to Government and People of Goa due to their irresponsibility and negligence. It is to be noted that every vessel in the waters world over are insured by the owners with Insurance Companies for each and every accident and such losses can be easily recovered by the Owners of the vessels involved from the Insurance Companies. Therefore, Government of Goa must penalize Salgaonkars and demand every loss from them to compensate all the expenses and losses caused due to the incident. Cheers Elvino Rodrigues Navelim
