Goa: Govt to rope in Pune, Chennai experts to help contain soil erosion along coastline

With the State coastline coming under stress due to soil erosion, the government has decided to bring in expertise from Pune and Chennai to help suggest measures how to go about containing further damage to the coast.

This became evident when Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas called on the Water Resources Department (WRD) Minister Subhash Shirodkar on Monday with the issue of soil erosion that has hit the Salcete coastline since the last monsoons, right from Cavelossim-Mobor to Colva.

During discussions, the Minister, MLA and WRD officials including Chief Engineer Badani and Superintending Engineer, Ankush Gaonkar discussed ways and means how to take up the job of protecting the coast from soil erosion.

A number of solutions were discussed including adopting the geotextile technology to stop the soil erosion along the beach belt.

The WRD Chief Engineer Badani, however, it is believed to have sounded a note of caution given the sensitive nature of the job of containing soil erosion. Given his past experience, the WRD Chief Engineer is believed to have called for adopting a cautious approach before zeroing in on a particular technology to contain the erosion.

Sources informed that the WRD Minister has suggested roping in expertise to ensure that the right technology is adopted in Goa to meet the situation. Accordingly, the WRD is expected to call for experts from Pune and Chennai to study the issue at hand and recommend the right technology.

Pointing out that soil erosion is a complicated issue, sources said the issue needs to be dealt with cautiously as it involves nature and nature’s fury.

Last week, the Sarpanch of Cavelossim Dixon Vaz had approached the Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav with a plea to initiate measures to stop the soil erosion at Mobor beach.

The Cavelossim-Mobor beach was hit by soil erosion around mid-January last when the rising sea water made deep incursions land wards. In fact, one could see the extent of the erosion along the Mobor-Cavelosim after the rising water hit the coastline.

Published on: Tuesday, February 07, 2023, 04:06 PM IST