Ahead of monsoon GSPCB to inspect jetties stacked with ore

Iron-ore laden jetties in Goa, which were held back from being exported due to the Supreme Court ban, have become a cause of concern for the state pollution control authorities.
Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has decided to order inspection of all the 28 jetties along the riverside, where the ore is stacked, to ensure that the ore does not run down into the river and pollute it.
GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said the exporters would be asked to take adequate steps to ensure that the iron ore does not run into the water bodies as the state may witness heavy rainfall June onwards.

The south-west monsoon is expected to arrive in Goa in the first week of June, soon after it touches Kerala.
Noronha said enough precaution should be taken to ensure that the iron ore is not mixed with the river waters.
Goa government statistics revealed that four million metric tones of iron ore has been stacked in various jetties along the riverside.

Mining in iron ore rich Goa is banned since September last year. The Supreme Court has also banned its export.
The barges (ships) usually carry this ore through inland waterways to sea and dump it in the trans-shipers.
Goa state Mines and Geology Department director Prasana Acharya said that the state government cannot intervene as the Supreme Court has ordered against moving of the ore.

"There is every possibility that ore would get washed-off into the rivers. There cannot be any precautionary measures to (avoid) this situation," he said.