KSPCB flags lapses as trash chokes Gokarna

Weeks after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took up a suo motu case based on a report by DH, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) officials who visited Gokarna said that tourism has ravaged the temple town that has no resources to monitor the tonnes of waste flowing into the sea.

On March 1, DH reported on the unregulated commercialisation and land use change that have turned the coastal town into a dumpyard, with all its storm water drains choked with plastic.

A report by Vijaya Hegde, Senior Environment Officer, Mangaluru Zone, said that six tonnes of wet, dry and mixed waste were dumped on the premises of the gram panchayat “in the most unhygienic way”.

After opposition by residents to set up waste collection and processing units in other places, the gram panchayat had taken up processing at an empty site next to the panchayat building.

During the inspection of the main beach of Gokarna, the officer saw mixed waste buried beneath the sand as if it were a landfill. The drains joining the sea were carrying all kinds of waste. “At places such as the main beach and where Sangam Nala joins the sea, open defecation was observed. Sangam Nala itself was full of plastic bottles and trash thrown by tourists or others,” the report said.

The gram panchayat is trying to manage solid waste “but not in a scientific way”. Officials said around 800 kg of dry waste was collected, of which 200 kg was mixed.

The report also flagged violations during the annual fair of Mahabaleshwara temple when temporary shops on the main beach compound the problem.

“Solid waste was dumped everywhere. At some places, waste cloths thrown by tourists were seen. The gram panchayat has not kept bins for systematic management of solid waste generated during the jathra (fair),” it said.

During a visit last month, this reporter saw that almost all the drains in the town were choked with plastic. At several places, waste was dumped on the roadside.

“There is no system to hold tourists accountable for littering. On the other hand, illegal homestays and resorts have mushroomed in the last 10 years. Nobody knows what happens to the waste and sewage generated in the area,” an official told DH.

Officials at the Gokarna Gram Panchayat have identified a forest land to set up a landfill. But the final approval for the diversion of forest land is pending as payment has not been made.

A gram panchayat official said works are being taken up to provide facilities. “Today (Monday), bathrooms and toilets built at Rs 30 lakh were inaugurated at the main beach. A toilet block in the bus station was also opened today. With regard to sanitation, we have a long way to go,” he said.

Gokarna has no underground drainage system but it carries a floating population of nearly 1 lakh during peak season. Officials estimate about 10,000 tourists even during the off-season.

“A nala (storm water drain) passes through the centre of the town. Sewage and sullage from every household and the entire village joins the nala, and ultimately joins the sea in the main beach area,” the report said