Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa Forward Party (GFP) has called for the immediate cancellation of the ₹310 crore capital dredging project proposed for the Mandovi and Zuari rivers, as well as the Cumbharjua canal. The party claims that the initiative, presented as an infrastructure upgrade, is in reality aimed at facilitating large-scale coal movement under the guise of multi-commodity transport.
The demand was made following a meeting of the GFP executive committee, chaired by party president Vijai Sardesai. During the meeting, a resolution was unanimously passed urging the government to withdraw the proposal with immediate effect. According to GFP, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has already given its nod to the project’s detailed project report (DPR).
Addressing the media post-meeting, Sardesai pointed out that the DPR outlines the dredging of approximately 6.5 million cubic metres of riverbed material to create a 67.5-metre-wide and 4-metre-deep navigation channel, capable of allowing continuous passage for 3,000-tonne barges.
Sardesai linked the project to the Sagarmala initiative, a central government port-led development policy, which the party has consistently opposed. “This dredging plan has no concrete vision for public or passenger transport infrastructure. The so-called multi-commodity transport corridor is just a cover — the real motive is to push coal and iron ore movement through Goa’s rivers,” he alleged.
Calling the DPR “anti-Goan,” Sardesai emphasized that the proposal threatens Goa’s environment, livelihoods, and public health, and should be shelved immediately.
