Factories charged with dumping toxic waste in Goa

PANAJI: The dumping of toxic waste packed in 700 cement bags and dumped in 10 locations by sponge iron plants in the Mollem national park and Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary here could adversely their flora and fauna an NGO said. The Belgaum-based environmental group, Paryavahini, reported the dumping to the chief secretary after the forest department, it said, failed to act on its complaint.

 

The toxic waste contains burnt dolomite, limestone and oxides of iron and was offloaded over a 13 km stretch in the Anmod section of the Western Ghats.

 

While the five firms identified as possible perpetrators denied dumping the waste; large quantities, nearly 100 cubic metres, were discovered at Mollem. “During the monsoons in the Western Ghats, toxic waste spreads to the sanctuary and downstream villages,” a Paryavahini activist said.

 

The Conservator (Wildlife and Eco-tourism) C A Reddy, said, “A truck using the National Highway running through the sanctuary dumped the waste.”

 

The Goa State Pollution Control Board asked the five sponge iron plants to explain the contamination. However, representatives of only two met the board and denied any responsibility, the board said.

 

One pig iron and three sponge iron plants are located close to the sanctuary that is constantly threatened by the mining activity around it. Recently three tigers were spotted inside the sanctuary and as a result Goa could now merit a case under Project Tiger. The firms now have three days to remove the waste.