BENGALURU: Imagine the popular beaches of Goa vanishing off the list of top tourist destinations! Sounds scary? The Goan beaches could be submerged if the Western Ghats are not protected in time, warns environmentalist Claude Alvares, who is also the head of the Goa Foundation. Speaking at India’s first zero waste conference — Conservation and Restoration Conference: Western Ghats and Water — here on Thursday, he said rise in sea levels is a global phenomena, but it is more visible in Goa, where, in the last two years, the damage has been in the form of shacks getting flooded, concrete sand of Mobor beach being shattered and the water level rising at Calangute beach. The coastal zonal regulations imposed by the environment ministry should be strengthened to ensure that there is no damage to aquatic life, he pointed out.
Speaking on Mahadayi, he said the two states which were friendly with each other for decades, have now become enemies over water. “The decision of the Karnataka government to divert water will allow salt water to flow into Goa which will, in turn, permanently change the ecology and water quality. It will also effect the Mandovi river. Decision makers do not understand this. The Western Ghats are one of the eight spots of natural heritage of the world, which is in Bengaluru’s backyard, acting as its lifeline and still it is being exploited to the maximum,” he rued.
Interacting with students of St Joseph’s College, he said over the years, a lot of damage has been done to the Western Ghats for commercial purposes apart form mining and quarrying. The youth too should now take a stand and lead the conservation efforts, he said.
Alvares pointed out that today, most of the granite quarrying is happening in Kerala. “Granite is a stone which one places on the tomb, but today it is being used for every thing. Also, there is a lot of iron ore extraction and abuse happening in Kudremukh and Goa. This needs to be stopped. Goa is the transit point of Western Ghats between Karnataka and Maharashtra, the most sensitive and unique forest patch, which is also under threat and will directly impact the sea level also,” he said.