Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: In a tit-for-tat nature has returned back loads of plastic waste which people either left in the lurch or discarded in water bodies over the period of time.
Tons of plastics along with other debris have washed ashore on Agonda beach for a couple of days now, even as more plastic wastes are filling –up the coastal sea waters indicating nature’s way of protesting by throwing back the human-created environmental disaster the human.
According to sources, large amounts of waste debris which consists more of plastic waste in different forms were washed ashore in the sands.
The shore waters are also seen as heavily infested with debris mixed with plastics, as fisherfolks practising traditional fishing like Paim-video get tons of debris instead of fish in their nets. The strewn waste mostly contains plastics, though much is blown towards the land and is seen as far as your eyesight could reach on the 1.9 Km long Agonda beach shore.
A fisherman informed ‘that for the time being Fishermen have stopped operating their paim-video as instead of fish only debris/waste is caught in the fishing nets. Even the fishermen who venture into the sea on traditional fishing boats spreading their fishing Nets on high seas complain of plastics and other wastes infecting their nets instead of fish.
“There is no doubt that plastic has revolutionized industries and daily life due to its versatility, durability, and cost-effectiveness, but its (Plastic) widespread and often careless use has led to significant environmental damages and challenges.’, states Dr Cajy D’Silva, an environmentalist and social worker.
D’Silva adds, ‘The Pollution caused by plastic waste, particularly by single-use items, often ends up in oceans, harming marine life and ecosystems, its Non-Biodegradability takes hundreds of years for the plastics to break down, leading to long-term environmental issues. Another worst quality of Microplastics is that as plastics degrade, they break down into tiny particles that contaminate water and food sources, posing health risks to all living beings, including humans.’
Residents however, claim that lots of waste particularly plastics is thrown out openly and many other wastes are released in village rivulets, which enter the sea during rains and as the sea does not keep foreign bodies into it for a long time, throws it back on the shore-sands..
Incidentally, the tourism department engaged women to clean the beach shore are yet to be seen on Agonda, as large beach-sand tracks continue to remain debris-infested.
