Goa: Leachate from Sonsodo dump finds its way into nullahs, water bodies

Margao: With nature in full fury, leachate has started flowing down from the Sonsodo legacy dump into the adjoining storm water nullahs and water bodies.

Though the legacy dump is being covered with tarpaulin sheets by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC), leachate from the dump has found its way into the drains.

The Sonsodo legacy dump is covered with tarpaulin sheets every year for around a decade now following directions from the High Court in order to prevent leachate from flowing into the adjoining drains and contaminating the water bodies.

Like in the past, black coloured water is flowing non-stop into the adjoining drains. One could find the leachate in the drains along the main road leading towards Margao.

An official, however, pointed out that the covering of the dump with plastic sheets cannot stop the leachate or the black coloured water from flowing from the dump. “The topography of the Sonsodo dump is a slope, and no amount of covering of the dump can stop the black coloured water from flowing down into the adjoining drains,” the official said.

He added: “Covering of the legacy dump, however, will certainly reduce the generation and flowing of leachate from the site. The exercise of covering the dump every year is certainly not a futile exercise.”

The GWMC, which has roped in a contractor to remediate the Sonsodo legacy dump, has covered the site in view of the ensuing monsoons. The Corporation will resume work on the bioremediation after the monsoons, with GWMC Managing Director Levinson Martins exuding confidence of completing the job before the next monsoons.

The High Court is closely monitoring the work of remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump on a public interest litigation filed by the Citizens for Sonsodo (CFS).

Published on: Sunday, June 26, 2022, 02:40 PM IST