Water hyacinth in River Sal worries Navelim, Benaulim villagers

Colva: While the dredging of

River Sal

is on, the people of

Navelim

and

Benaulim

constituencies are concerned about the spreading of water hyacinth in the water body.

A thick layer of water hyacinth had developed at various places in River Sal. It was concentrated in areas like Kharebandh, Mungul and the wholesale fish market over the years, causing damage to marine life. It also caused problems during the monsoon as it would restrict the movement of water into the sea. But at the moment, with the river being desilted, the water weed is spreading to other areas with the tides. The contractor,

Kiran Naik

, who has bagged the contract also agreed that while dredging the river, bunches of water hyacinth break and move with the tide. He further stated that it is not in his scope of contract to remove the water hyacinth, but it becomes difficult to dredge the river without removing it.

"My workers have removed as much as they can with the excavator, but some of it flows with the water," Naik said. He added that scientists from

NIO

and

Icar

(Indian council of agricultural research) should be consulted to rid the river of the water hyacinth.

Fisheries minister

Avertano Furtado

, who had taken keen interest in the cleaning and beautification of the river, when contacted, said most of the water hyacinth has been removed, but was surprised to know that the weed has been moving with the tide. He assured that the movement of the parasitic water hyacinth would be halted.

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