Margao: Villagers of Costi-Kalay in Sanguem taluka have threatened to intensify their agitation against a piggery unit they allege is contaminating local water sources unless a permanent solution is found before Ganesh Chaturthi. While a joint inspection of the site was carried out recently by officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, the directorate of health services, the veterinary department and the Kalay panchayat, accompanied by local MLA and speaker of the state assembly Ganesh Gaonkar, villagers hoped that it would lead to a permanent solution.The inspection follows a protest where locals had warned authorities would be held responsible should the standoff escalate into any untoward incident, particularly with Ganesh Chaturthu approaching.Addressing villagers at the joint inspection, Gaonkar said the report compiled by the officials would be forwarded to the authorities concerned, and that efforts would be made to work out a solution to the long-pending issue. He added that he would personally take up the matter with the chief minister.Residents reiterated their core grievances — that effluents from the piggery were being let into a nearby stream, rendering water from the wells in the vicinity unfit for use, and that the unit, located barely 50m from the residential area, posed a risk of epidemic. They also alleged that a water body used for Ganesh immersion was being contaminated by the discharge.Panchayat sources said that the unit was originally sanctioned as a goat-rearing enterprise, but the permission rescinded once it emerged that the operation was in fact a piggery. The proprietor, however, secured a stay from the directorate of panchayats against the panchayat’s order, keeping the unit running despite the local opposition.Villagers reiterated their demand that the piggery either be shut down or relocated away from habitation.
