Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Jun 8: Urban sewage discharge, wastewater from casinos, and effluents from restaurants are the chief culprits polluting the Mandovi River in Goa’s capital and its stretch into the Arabian Sea, according to multiple studies — including one by the prestigious CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) based in Dona Paula.

The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has repeatedly flagged high pollution levels in the river and coastal waters, yet efforts by local authorities and state government departments to curb the flow of urban waste into the river remain inadequate.

A comprehensive study by NIO, released last year, pinpointed wastewater from households, businesses along the Mandovi’s banks, and entertainment vessels such as casinos and cruise boats as significant contributors to microplastics contamination in the river. The study, led by Principal Scientist Dr. Mahua Saha and a researcher from a Netherlands university, was later published in peer-reviewed journals.

The Panaji Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) is supposed to treat all of the capital’s sewage before discharging it into the river through pipelines and nullahs. However, the St. Inez Creek, a three-kilometer-long urban stream originating at the foothills of Taleigao’s Nagalli Hills and flowing into the Mandovi near the old GMC building, has long served as an unmonitored waste conduit. Despite recent efforts by the Water Resources Department (WRD) to fortify some sections of its banks with concrete, the creek remains heavily polluted.

The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has previously admitted that some establishments and residential buildings along St. Inez Creek’s eastern bank continue to dump wastewater — and at times raw sewage — directly into the creek.

Activist and former CCP councillor Patricia Pinto, who has consistently highlighted the creek’s neglect, expressed frustration: “No one is bothered, but some citizens keep raising their voices to seek accountability from the authorities.” She cited a recent incident in which a night-soil tanker was filmed discharging sewage into the creek at Camrabhat.

Meanwhile, concerns about heavy metal contamination in the Mandovi River persist. A joint study by IIT Kharagpur and NIO conducted five years ago found traces of mercury — a highly toxic neurotoxin — in the river and in edible oysters harvested from its waters. Although the mercury levels in oysters were within “permissible limits,” the study urged further investigation to identify the source of the contamination. However, there is no evidence that any government agency has taken steps to address this issue since the report was published.

As Goa’s lifeline river faces mounting threats, experts and citizens alike are calling for urgent action to protect the Mandovi’s health — and, by extension, the health of all who depend on it.