Team Goemkarponn
COLVALE: The Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has sought immediate intervention to address the long-running sewage problems at the Central Jail, Colvale, directing the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Sewerage & Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Ltd. (SIDCGL) to put a dedicated maintenance mechanism in place.
The direction came while the Commission was hearing a complaint raised by a member of the prison’s Board of Visitors over sanitation and drainage conditions at the facility.
Details placed before the Commission by Superintendent of Prisons Sucheta Dessai indicate that the jail has been grappling with sewage blockages and overflows since 2021. While a Sewage Treatment Plant is available within the prison complex, the existing drainage system has repeatedly failed to carry wastewater to the facility.
According to the prison authorities, the relatively narrow drainage pipes become blocked by materials such as cloth, bottles and other waste discarded by inmates. As a result, sewage backs up and spills from inspection chambers, creating unhygienic conditions.
In the absence of a permanent remedy, the jail administration has been relying on suction tankers to control the overflows. It has been spending approximately Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 every month, with each tanker trip costing about Rs 4,300.
The authorities also informed the Commission that repeated requests had been made to the PWD over a period of more than a year, but the infrastructure problem remained unresolved.
The GHRC, taking into account the implications for sanitation, inmate welfare and public health, has now asked PWD/SIDCGL to send a maintenance team to the jail without delay and clear the affected sewage chambers. The Commission has further directed that such clearance be carried out every week until the proposed long-term works are taken up through the tender process.
The Commission will take stock of the progress when the matter comes up again on September 30, 2026, with the concerned authorities directed to submit updated status reports.
