the goan I network
MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council came under fire from citizens as tonnes of mixed waste from the city was unloaded on the Sonsodo dump, with fears being raised in many quarters that open dumping will pose health hazard to the residents of the city.
While the civic body handed around 14 tonnes of segregated waste collected from the households to the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, the Municipality resorted to open dumping of the waste collected from the black spots dotting the city.
Curtorim MLA, Reginaldo Lourenco, Joe D’Souza, convenor of Shadow Council of Margao Savio Coutinho all cried foul as the tones of mixed waste found its way at the existing dump since morning. “This only goes to show that the MMC has failed on the waste segregation front,” cried Reginaldo Lourenco.
Joe D’Souza said he has seen how mixed waste consisting of medical waste, glass bottles, batteries, thermocol, carcasses of animals have all been dumped on the Sonsodo site. “Open dumping of mixed waste will only create fresh health hazard to the people living in the vicinity. It is sad that the civic body is not learning from history. It appears that history is repeating at Sonsodo. The situation, if not attended to urgently, will only expose the people to a host of diseases,” Joe said, while demanding that the government should ask the Goa University to immediately conduct a study on the situation at Sonsodo.
Shadow Council of Margao convenor Savio Coutinho said it’s time the civic body show its sincerity in supplying segregated waste to the waste treatment plant instead of dumping the waste on the open dump.
MMC officials, however, pointed out that the waste dumped on the Sonsodo dump comprised of the waste collected from dark spots dotting across the city. “While our workers went door-to-door collecting the waste, tonnes of waste found dumped at the dark spots and near the transfer stations was transported to the Sonsodo and disposed of on the open dump,” remarked a MMC official.
The official, however, pointed out that the practice of open dumping will hopefully end soon with the civic body holding an interview on Monday to shortlist 25 workers for segregation of waste at the plant.
“Once these workers are recruited by the civic body, they will be deployed at the tipping point at the waste treatment plant with a clear brief to segregate the waste coming from the dark spots and the transfer stations,” the official added.
