Friday, May 23, 2008

Mining silts Kushavati dam in Quepem, Goa

Children and elderly people seen cooling themselves off in the water of Kushawati Dam

The Quepem Dam over the Kushawati river which is one of the oldest dam in South Goa's Quepem taluka ; built during the Portuguese regime - that ended in 1961 - has been totally silted due to mining rejects. As a result the water holding capacity of the dam has drastically reduced. Villagers apprehends that in the years to come the dam may run short of water for irrigation.

Villagers claims that around 15 years back the depth of the dam was around 6 mts and presently the depth of the dam is not even half a meter as silt from the water can be seen by standing on the dam. That due to siltation if one had a dip into the water the water immediately turns muddy. On Sunday May 18, 2008 when visited the site a hordes of children and elderly people were seen bathing into the dam and every time they had a dip the water used to turn muddy.
John Fernanades

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