BY MINOO FERNANDES | NT

MARGAO: The beaches of Goa, are invaded by tar balls and tar-like substance, which destroys the beauty of the beaches and drives tourists away.

This phenomenon occurs every year and it is strongly suspected that rogue ships which pass by the Goa coast, in the Arabian Sea, are responsible for this, as it is said that they dump used oil in the sea, which leads to the same floating onto the beaches and creating an inconvenience to all.

In this backdrop, ‘The Navhind Times’ approached Mr Anand Vinodkar, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP), Coastal, for his comments, especially since, lately, a large amount of tar balls have washed on the beaches in South Goa, particularly in Salcete areas like Betalbatim, Colva and Benaulim.

Mr Vinodkar said that the Coastal Police are equipped with five patrol boats, which are presently maintaining a strict vigil on the passing ships. He said if any of them report of any rogue ship caught emptying its oil tanks into the sea, resulting in creation of such tar balls, strict action will be taken against the culprits.

He disclosed that presently there are three coastal police stations, two of which are located in South Goa, one at Harbour, Vasco and the other at Betul. The third one is at Siolim in Bardez taluka.

When police inspector, Mr Gurudas Kadam, in-charge of the coastal police station at Betul was contacted, he said his staff is keeping a close watch, adding further that the police would certainly take action as per the existing laws in force, if the culprits involved in dumping oil in the sea are found.

DySP, Mr Vinodkar, however admitted that the coastal police do not have the equipment that would enable them to venture onto the high seas, insearch of these rogue ships, adding further that the act of going far out to sea to locate these ships or tankers, could be tackled better by vessels of the coast guards or the Indian Navy. He said that the source of the tar balls, that were seen at the beaches of Betalbatim, Velsao, Colva and Benaulim, cannot be detected by the coastal police.

Village panchayat authorities in villages such as Majorda, Carmona, Benaulim, Colva, Velsao and Betalbatim disclosed that though such incidents have been occurring for the last 6 to 7 years, they have never ever seen such a massive amount of tar balls on the beaches, as witnessed in the last few days.

Mr Anthony Fernandes, the deputy sarpanch of Colva, disclosed that this year the incidence of this phenomenon on the beaches in quite alarming. He informed that as soon as the tar balls were seen on Colva beach, the panchayat authorities informed the Minister for Tourism, as well as the Ministry for Environment, over the telephone, and added that he was pleasantly surprised when the Tourism Minister, Mr Nilkhant Halankar and the director of Tourism, came to the site along with the Environment Minister, Mr Aleixo Sequeira. A brief inspection of the affected beaches was undertaken.

Mr Fernandes however says that it is not important as to who informed the authorities; but what is important is that some concrete, long term steps must be taken by the government in this direction to stop this phenomenon from happening on such a large scale.

Asked if the panchayats can do something to stop the menace, almost all the sarpanchas of the villages on the coastal belt said that the beach area comes under the jurisdiction of the tourism ministry, and added further that the panchayats are not at all equipped to deal with such situaions, which has the source far away in the sea. They questioned when the Coastal Police, the Coast Guard, the Navy and the government with its machinery, could not prevent the situation from happening, then how could they with no equipment or infrastructure. When the Directorate of Tourism was contacted over this matter, it was informed that the government has taken adequate measures, adding further that the matter is reported to the National Oceanography, as well as the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy, and that a thorough inquiry is being conducted to nail the culprits involved, and also to ascertain if this dumping has been a deliberate act. It was also informed that scientific tests will be conducted of the samples of the tar balls and that efforts are on to pin the source.

The Directorate of Tourism adding further that the director of NIO, Dr Satish Shetye, has assured all assistance in the matter. The Goa Pollution Control Board too is in the process of conducting the tests on the samples and the results are awaited, it was informed. It was also informed that hydrocarbon fingerprint tests would be conducted, the process which could help in identifying the responsible vessel.

Meanwhile, some locals and school students undertook the task of cleaning the Colva beach on September 2, along with the labourers hired by the tourism department.

Locals informed that the task of cleaning the beaches is hard work. Others said they believe that the sea has its own mechanism to clean up the beach, and that this scenario is nothing new.

However, it is only this year, after witnessing the large quantity of the tar balls, that the government has initiated concrete steps to deal with the issue. There is a fear that this issue is bad for all; tourism, locals, fishing community as well as the aquatic life.