MARGAO: Days after the High Court’s attention was drawn to the rampant open dumping of green waste and other garden refuse, besides the silt at the open space near the KTC bus stand by the Margao Municipality, waste dumping in the midst of commercial activities and residential houses may soon be a thing of the past.
For, the civic body has finally set in motion the process to stop waste dumping at the site and give relief to the residents of Fatorda, facing nuisance and health hazard.
MMC orders 2 garden waste shredders to reduce waste into powder
While the civic body has been prompt in issuing a memorandum to the officials not to dump any material on the Goa State Urban Development Agency-acquired land near the KTC bus stand after the High Court hearing, the MMC has now ordered two garden waste shredders to reduce the waste into powder.
That’s not all. Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar had a meeting with councilors on Friday evening seeking cooperation from them to ensure that green and garden waste does not find its way to the GSUDA-acquired land in the light of the developments in the High Court.
The MMC chairperson further said the civic body would take immediate measures to ensure that the waste mound near the KTC bus stand is flattened and the mud lifted away for land filling. He pointed out that one of the two garden waste shredders will be commissioned by the civic body at Sonsodo, while the second plant will be mounted on a vehicle to treat the garden and green waste on the ground.
The MMC chairperson along with Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat descended at the Sonsodo site on Friday for the inspection of probable site for the installation of the garden waste shredder.
Chief Officer, Sankhwalkar informed that the MMC has initiated steps to stop garden and green waste dumping near the KTC bus stand after the Municipal lawyer assured the court that no dumping of any kind will be allowed on the land in question. He said the Municipal lawyer had taken the stand after Adv Norma Alvares submitted a note before the High Court on September 11 stating that the land near the KTC bus stand is being used for dumping green waste and other garden refuse, besides de-silted mud.
In light of the court development, he said a memorandum has been issued to the Municipal Engineer Grade-I, Municipal Engineer Grade-II, Junior Engineers, and supervisors of Road Gangs directing them not to dump any material on the land.
In fact, a warning has been issued that any violation of the office memorandum will be brought to the notice of the High Court, and necessary action will be proposed against the violators.
Vehicle breakdown hits Sonsodo waste transportation to Cacora
Transportation of Sonsodo wet waste to the Cacora waste treatment plant has hit a block, but for a different reason – the breakdown of the garbage vehicle.
In fact, for the last one week, the Margao Municipal Council has been transporting the entire quantity of wet waste to the Saligao waste treatment plant after the vehicle transporting the waste to the Cacora plant reportedly broke down.
20 tonnes of Sonsodo to Cacora treatment plan
The High Court had entrusted the responsibility of transporting 20 tonnes of Sonsodo daily wet waste to the Cacora waste treatment plant, with a direction to the Margao Municipality to transport the balance 10 tonnes of wet waste to the Saligao plant till further orders.
Unfortunately, the garbage vehicle deployed by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) is believed to have developed a technical snag, as a result of which the vehicle had to be sent to the garage for repairs.
Saligao waste treatment plant
MMC officials informed that since the civic body had a system in place to transport 30 tonnes of the daily wet waste to the Saligao waste treatment plant, the mechanism has come in handy for the transportation of the daily waste without any problem on the ground. “There’s no impact on the transportation of the daily wet waste to Saligao after the vehicle transporting the 20 tonnes of wet waste to the Cacora plant broke down. Till the time the GWMC vehicles return back on the road, the MMC will transport the entire quantity of 30 tonnes of waste to the Saligao waste treatment plant,” informed a senior MMC official.
