Locals accuse mining cos of polluting River Khandepar

Panaji: Residents who have received 'muddy' water from Opa water treatment plant have raised suspicions that two mining firms and a factory may be responsible for the pollution in River Khandepar.

Residents of Tisk-Usgao have highlighted the pollution in Khandepar river by sending letters along with pictures to various government authorities, including the chief minister. The mining leases are located upstream of Khandepark river and the factory is situated at Dhatwada, Usgao, not far from the treatment plant.

"The muddy water is also as a result of effluents being discharged into the river," a resident said. This is affecting the quality of water at Opa water treatment plant which supplies water to 60 per cent of Goa.

"It is suspected that there is every possibility of discharging waste effluents today and hereafter also in the night time which goes unnoticed to public and therefore Opa treatment plant supplies muddy water to public," the letter written by Ganpat Kurtiker to the PI of Ponda police station on September 9 states, requesting that an FIR be filed against those responsible for discharging waste water from their mining pits into the river and putting the health of the public in danger.

Sources in the PWD said the dumping could have been done at night and early morning. The turbidity on September 9 rose to as high as 105 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units), four times the average and the muddy water that accumulated at the water treatment plant caused problems in the filtration process. The plant was only able to treat around 135 MLD water compared to the 140 MLD it treats on a daily basis. Despite filtration, the water emerging was coloured.