Goa Island Bridge Plan Sparks Eco Fears

A proposed Rs 274.8 crore bridge project to link Goa's Chorao Island with Salvador do Mundo has reignited a three-decade-old plan, drawing both support for improved connectivity and strong environmental concerns. The project, which has seen its tender value significantly increase since 2013, aims to enhance access for Chorao residents and stimulate local development. Local representatives have indicated public consent, calling it a long-awaited dream for better access to Panaji. However, residents of Salvador do Mundo are demanding greater transparency regarding the project's details. The planned 425m steel bridge includes substantial embankments that will traverse eco-fragile areas and vital waterbodies, known as 'poims,' crucial for flood control within the traditional khazan system. Activists and landowners are raising alarms about potential massive water displacement and disruption to floodwater flow, impacting agricultural lands and the region's biodiversity, which includes otters and diverse avian species. Concerns are also mounting over increased flooding in fields, harm to farmers' livelihoods, and long-term environmental damage, especially as the region is identified as highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding. Environmental experts emphasize caution with projects involving significant reclamation, given rising water levels and historical devastation from reclamation in similar low-lying areas. Demands include declaring Chorao an ecologically sensitive island and relocating the bridge site. An independent assessment of the project's social, environmental, and infrastructural impact is being called for.