DREDGING OF RIVERS ... IT'S ESSENTIAL, REALLY. By: Anil V Madgavkar, Nizari Bhavan, Panjim Ph: 2431192. HERALD (Reader Speak) - 17 April, 2004
I am surprised at the statement of Dr. Claude Alvares and Dr. Untawale that the dredging of the Mandovi river would be harmful to the ecology. Claude is literally talking through his hat when he makes such ridiculous, publicity-seeking comments. I would have expected people like Claude Alvares to make a lot of noise when all the debris of the bridge was dumped along the Mondovi water front, because such dumping of debris causes ecological damages as well as additional siltation. I would request our so-called experts to refer to the charts of all our rivers of Goa, from the Portuguese times, to verify the dimensions and depths of the river, since the old days, and to see the extent of siltation that has taken place during the past several decades, which has resulted in most of the rivers becoming far shallower with the navigable width of the rivers reducing drastically. Most people will be surprised to know that the maximum depth of the mouth of the Mandovi river at low tide is barely 2.5 mts. and it is for this reason that passenger vessels like the Kokan Shakti can no longer operate at the Panjim port. Infact, we had proposed to set up a passenger service between Mumbai and Goa with a vessel of about 700 passenger capacity, which requires a draft of 3.5 mts. The plan was shelved by us, because the ship would not have been able to enter the Panjim port at all times, due to the shallow draft of water at the mouth of the Mandovi river. Infact, I have been making representations to each succeeding Government over the past 10 years, requesting them to dredge the mouths of all the rivers as well as to dredge the navigable area and to remove all the debris to provide a minimum depth of 5 mts., so that inland water transport as well as inland water tourism could get a major boost. The present Government has, for the first time, taken the initiative to dredge the rivers and they should be congratulated for the actions taken by them. I would infact request our CM to dredge all the four rivers, especially at the mouth, to a depth of minimum 5 mts. Today, the mouth of the Chapora river has silted up so drastically that not even 1 mt. water is available at low tide. Similar is the case with the river Sal. Fortunately, the Zuari river mouth has remained deep because of the continuous dredging being undertaken by the MPT, on a daily basis. However, the Zuari river also needs to be dredged further down, beyond the San Jacinto Island, where it is heavily silted. Rivers are the lifelines of most places, with vast development taking place along the river banks. If the rivers are allowed to silt, they will die, and bring inland water traffic to a grinding halt, to the detriment of the economy of the State. We must learn to be constructive in our criticism, and to praise the Government whenever it takes a right action, instead of simply throwing brick-bats for every action the Government takes. COMMENTS: Well said, Anil Madgavkar, is all we can say. I have been personally involved with rivers and seas for my entire working life as a Merchant Marine Officer. And I fully agree with Anil Madgavkar on the matter of dredging of the rivers in Goa. I have gone through the above write up more than once but I have failed to see Anil Madgavkar linking the dredging of the Mandovi river to the IFFI controversy. Therefore, with due respect to Anil Madgavkar, I would like to pose the following questions: 1. The present CM (Manohar Parrikar) is in politics for a decade or more. Has he raised the issue of the dumping of the debris of the Mandovi bridge before? 2. Has he raised any issue re the dredging of any river in Goa during his tenure as a politician? 3. Granted that Claude Alvares is seeking cheap publicity. Is he not supposed to verify if proper studies are carried out as per the rules and regulations in existence and proper clearances obtained for concerned departments which work under the jurisdiction of the Government itself? Is Dr. Untawale, the ex-NIO scientist also talking through his hat with Dr. Claude? 4. Can the dredging operation be completed in 6 to 7 months? After that what? 5.Does Anil Madgavkar know the intricacies of the flow of water currents? And how dredging in one place will affect some other place vis a vis silting? 6. Shouldn't the dredging of the rivers and/or other related works be carried out under the supervision of experts fortified by proper and authentic studies? Or does Anil Madgavkar endorses the IIT degree/diploma in Metallurgy of Manohar Parrikar as a universal 'know all' certificate including marine affairs? 7. Wasn't Manohar Parrikar trying to put a floating Multiplex complex in the Mandovi before demolishing the Campal Football Stadium? As such, does not Anil Madgavkar think that there is a screw loose in Manohar Parrikar's head? 8. Should we trust major developments in the hands of screw loose CEO's like Manohar Parrikar? Is he not doing all this to save his backside from burning from the inevitable flak from Delhi his Delhi bosses for giving them false assurances re IFFI? Anil Madgavkar must realise that we need sustained development in Goa. And sustained development requires taking of a lot of pains in planning and in conducting studies. Manohar Parrikar has proved himself as a strutting, vain ''Pompador" at best. And the need of the hour demands that he must be shut up in an assilum for the insane. Cheers Floriano Lobo goasuraj. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
