Salgaoncar asks for 'River Princess' ownership
PTI, PANAJI | 02 September 2010 00:02 IST
The row over the ship which has run aground off Goa's coast is likely to thicken further with the company empowered to clear it asking for ownership of vessel before commencing work on it.
Goa government's disaster management committee headed by Chief Secretary Sanjay Srivastava on Monday evening had decided to hand over the tender of removing the ship to M/s Salgaoncar Mining Industries (SMI).
SMI Director Sameer Salgaoncar said they will start the work of breaking the ship only after getting the ownership of the vessel.
He said the ship will be taken away from the shore and broken into pieces to avoid pollution on the coast.
The ship that ran aground a decade back at Candolim shore had eight different companies unsuccessfully tried to salvage it.
Its presence has threatened the ecology of the coast, with sand erosion causing panic amongst the locals.
SMI owned the ship when it hit the shore in 2000 but later Goa government took over the ship under Goa tourist places protection Act in 2003 tendering work to salvage it.
"We are asking the vessel to be given back to us before we start the work," Salgaoncar said.
The director said the company does not want any kind of disturbances on the beach when vessel is being broken and taken away.
The precariously tilted ship on the shore has feared to split into two causing major beach pollution on Candolim beach, 10 kms away from here.
He said the salvaging process has been politicised.
"Two companies which were given the contract earlier had no experience in salvaging," Salgaoncar claimed.
He said SMI in past had towed away a trans-shipper and a tug which had run aground off Goa's coast.
the ship has been confiscated by the state.it now belongs to the state.ownership cannot be given back to the defaulting owner.
it could be given to an aspiring salvor in performance of contract.salgaocar must respect the elected govt of the people and if he wishes remove the scraps gracefully without malice or hindrance to anyone.the govt must ensure the salvor is not troubled by vested interests.jai goa
Confiscated vessel can not return to the owner.Number of problem may araise.
Only allowed for salvage job work Or sale is applicable.In India has number of confiscated vessel in India sea shore.No one owner can claim the ship.
Salvankar is making trouble and destroy the time for doing the woork.
Joke of the Year !!
First, hush all the rumour and the Govt would say we do not know whose ship it is.
Then , the Salgaoncar's come in and try to do charity saying we will take the wreck. So that the next election he can stand and say I did a favour on the state of Goa.
I agree to Jagan .. if it was any other country these guys would be rotting in Jail.
See how immediately USA nailed BP for an oil disaster. Anyways a country where Human life is not treated with respect .. the birds and animals are a far away.
It seems very evident that someone heading the goverment used an act under goa tourist places protection act in 2003 to pocket kicklbacks from all the eight companies which were awarded the tenders to salvage the vessel..The than goverment leader should be held directly responsible for the ecology dissaster it has caused over the years and must be pulled and forced to pay for all the damage done to the enviroment under the so called tourist places protection ac which was irrelevant and insane.
I would highly appreciate if the goverment could come out clean to specify as to what they were precisely protecting?Their vested interest and kickbacks of the marooned ship on the seashore? was it the inconsistency of the all the politicians who have changed hands in the goverment mocking the goans for their susegad approach over the period of time or isn't the goverment officails still not satisfied with the haftas,If The ship belonged to SMI it should have been their reponsibility to salavge the vessel and not an corrupt act to damage the ecology of the state.
The act was forced in to protect your personal pockets.....Goverment officials are unseen dacoits made upof riff raff characters especially the bloody elected ministers.
Without going into merits and demerits of any salvage attempts about the ship/barge/a vessel, and the Salgaoncars, I salute the Princess for having exposed Goas political clout who masquerade as Goa Government. The names include such high and mighties as Pratapsingh Rane, Wilfred De Sousa, Manohar Parrikar, Digamber Kamat, Matanhy Saldanha, etc. etc. etc. from both, the Congress party and the BJP.
Doesn't it look ridiculous when they even talk about Goa's development, environment or regional plan.
A beautiful estate opposite the Princess and belonging to Pintos of Panaji is already half under water, Fort Aguada Beach Resort whose staff used to shoo away local beach strollers saying 'tumi hanga naka, tumi thaysar vachat, ho amcho beach' are interstingly silent.
How has all this been happening? I think this one event speaks volumes about 50 years of Goa after Potuguese rule.
If the Govt. succumbs to this latest gig, then the shipowner or disponent owner has succeeded in being in win win situatiion. That exercise of taking over the vessel under Tourism law has indeed been an exercise in futility and Goans have been made suckers.
I am going back to Candolim in November 2010 and really hope that there is still some beach/sand left. Back in February huge sandbags were put along the seashore to help prevent further erosion of the beach, but they sank! I wonder whether the monsoon has done further damage to this once lovely beach.