PANAJI: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will receive fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) motorboat costing around Rs 40 lakh for collecting water samples mid-stream next week.
This boat will further boost GSPCB capacity in testing pollution levels at lakes and rivers.
The GSPCB had asked Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) to construct the boat, which is ready and will be handed over to it next week.
The GSPCB has initiated the process to get the boat registered with the Captain of Ports (CoP) under the Inland Vessels Act and to also seek permission for safe docking at the Panaji jetty.
The boat is 7-8 metres long with a canopy to provide protection from heat and rain and a seating capacity of six.
A GSPCB official said, “We will soon appoint an official and send him for training to maritime school for operating the boat. The boat will help the scientific team in collecting water samples mid-stream.”
Presently, the water samples within the navigable riverine/estuaries stretches are collected at the mouth or banks of the water bodies and analysed in the board laboratory for various physiochemical and bacteriological parameters and are interpreted based on standards prescribed by the CPCB.
The water sampling is carried out monthly or half yearly basis as per the categorisation of water source.
It has to be mentioned here that during the 112th meeting held in March 2014, it was decided by the board members to procure FRP boat for collecting water samples at 50 selective locations in the state.