One of the most popular tourist place Goa has faced an embarrassment for its unhygienic beaches because of dumped untreated sewage. It is anticipated that the polluted water will affect the tourist volume in area as well as regional flora and fauna.

On Friday, a group of researchers from National Institute of Oceanography in Pananji, India, has released a warning note where they have marked the beaches unsafe for bathing as well as for fishing. They notified high levels of faecal coliform bacteria, greater than the international benchmark, in water off the coast and in rivers.

Dr. N. Ramaiah, a scientist from NIO, has posted on institute’s webpage that for safe bathing and international standards it should be 100 CFU (colony forming units) per 100mm but now it has touched 190' in some areas, which is an alarming figure.

The Chairman of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Manguirish Pai Raikar, has assured to discuss the issue with state government. Simultaneously, the Chairman of state-appointed Goa State Pollution Control Board, Simon de Souza, expressed disappointment on the findings and stressed on the need of an extensive sewerage system to avoid the sea water pollution.

He added, "We insist on sewage treatment plants for hotels which have 25 rooms or more. But those with lesser number of rooms use septic tanks, which indirectly flow into the ground water and from there into the sea”.