Sewage from overloaded Baga waste plant floods fields

Calangute: An inspection by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) found the agriculture fields near the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Baga inundated with sewage water.

The inspection was conducted after Calangute villagers and the panchayat members met chief minister Pramod Sawant claiming that the STP was causing pollution.

They also conveyed their opposition to the tankers dumping sewage at the plant.GSPCB officials took samples of the water for testing and said they will submit a report to govt.“As per records, all parameters are maintained. As of now, the plant is functioning properly.

There is some overflow in the fields due to heavy rain. GSPCB officials have taken samples, and once reports come in, then we will know what the problems are and take steps to rectify them,” said Dr Roshan Nazareth, health officer of Candolim primary health centre.President of Calangute Constituency Forum, Premanand Divkar, said that serious environmental violations were observed due to poor sewage treatment management, with untreated sewage being discharged into nearby fields, destroying crops.

“It was observed that over 40 tankers, carrying around 3 lakh litres of sewage, are being unloaded daily at the STP. Given the plant’s incapacity to treat such volumes, this excess load is released directly as untreated sewage into the environment,” he said.“The direct discharge of sewage into the Baga river has severely polluted it and, if unchecked, it could contaminate Baga beach’s coastal waters,” Divkar said.