Muddied water floods North Goa
Unplanned mining blamed for turning monsoon rains into sludge
heavy monsoon rains mixed with silt from the mines in North Goa damaged about 100 homes in Bicholim taluka on June 6 and 7. No one died. Survivors said they barely managed to escape in time and lost all their belongings.
In the mining belt, silt from the pits dug to extract iron ore is stacked in the open. During rains the silt turns into sludge that damages farmland and houses. This happened on the night of June 6 in Varchawada, Poira and Manaswada residential areas of Bicholim, the taluka worst affected by mining. Poira was hit by sludge from the Advalpal iron ore mine owned by Sesa Goa Ltd