Clean up polluted feeders to save Sal river, urge citizens

Margao: Even as official data and ground inspections have confirmed a catastrophic decline in the water quality of the Sal river, with several stretches recording zero oxygen levels, residents have now begun mounting pressure on authorities to treat the disease, not merely the symptoms: the choked, sewage-laden nullahs that are pumping filth directly into the river.Margao resident Sanjay Dessai, who has closely tracked the deterioration of the Sal, said the five major nullahs in Margao are the primary culprits and must be addressed before any broader clean-up effort can yield results. “The old market nullah — a major tributary of the Sal — is pumping pollution directly into our waters. The Sal is gasping for breath, and it starts with what’s flowing from our own backyard. It’s time to demand a cleanup,” he said.Dessai warned that without overhauling the sewerage network, the clean-up will remain cosmetic. Rita Fernandes, a homemaker from Khareband whose locality borders the river, said the stench from nearby nullahs has made daily life unbearable. Studies have pointed out that seepage and overflow from poorly maintained soak pits release untreated sewage into nullahs that empty into the Sal — discharge easily observed at Khareband and Navelim.

Waste from the SGPDA wholesale fish market, laundry effluents and slaughterhouse runoff further load the nullahs with pollutants before they drain into the river.The urgency behind citizens’ demands is backed by hard data. Official water quality records for 2025, tabled in the recent assembly session, revealed dissolved oxygen levels crashing to near zero for five consecutive months at a downstream monitoring point — a threshold that signals near-total collapse of aquatic life.

Biochemical oxygen demand levels also breached safe limits, peaking at 6mg/litre.Water resources minister Subhash Shirodkar, following a site inspection of the river last month, directed officials to prioritise stopping direct sewage inflow. But citizens say that directive must translate into urgent action on the nullahs — fueling Sal’s slow death.