Goemkarponn desk
Margao – A Study Report by IIT – Bombay shows the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site of 1600 kilometres Western Ghats Region (WGR), with one of the 35 Bio Diversity Hotspots on the planet Earth is plagued with heavy and rapid soil erosion. The Report shows almost 80 per cent of soil erosion. This is one more “Warning Bell” for the BJP Government to rethink Destructive Three Linear Projects, stated Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao.
Reacting to the recent study by Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy and Ms Vaishnavi Honap, at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), revealing rapidly increasing soil erosion in the WGR, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao has said that this data needs to be studied and corrective measures need to be taken on war footing basis by the Goa Government.
I urge the Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant to invite the team of IIT-Bombay to give a Presentation to all the Members of the Goa Legislative Assembly and Environmental Activists of Goa. We have lost Mhadei, if we fail to act now we will lose Bio-diversity-rich Western Ghats which will eventually convert Goa into a Desert, warned Yuri Alemao.
A few months back Indian Institute of Space Research Organisation (ISRO) published a Report on Coastal Erosion in the State of Goa. A similar Report on Soil Erosion in both the Districts of Goa was also published by ISRO. I had urged the Government in the last Assembly Session to take serious note of these Reports and take corrective steps, reminded Yuri Alemao.
The Report has categorical mention of heavy floods in the region which have drastically hit Agricultural Productivity, reduced Water Quality, affected Fresh Water Sources posed major ecological and socio-economic challenges and affected the unique Bio Diversity of Western Ghats. It is now for the Government to take serious Cognizance of the Findings and Recommendations of the said Report, claimed Yuri Alemao.
BJP government policies are Anti-Environment and Pro-Capitalists. We must remember that it is only because of the efforts of the NGOs and Activists that Identity of Goa is protected. Goans will always remain indebted to the NGOs and Activists for their hard work and efforts to Save Goa from the Destructive Policies of the BJP Government, Yuri Alemao said.
