Mapusa: The black spots have resurfaced and with impunity in Mapusa. Several roadside waste dump points which were eliminated by the Mapusa Municipal Council three years back have returned, as people continue to dump garbage by the roadside.
The numerous Swacch Bharat Abhiyan campaign of cleanliness appears to have had no impact, as residents have once again started dumping their household trash on roadside and in the open spaces around the town.
The Mapusa civic body collects door-to-door garbage on a daily basis in all 20 wards but despite the service, people continue to dump waste in the open.
In 2019, the civic authorities had identified 14 black spots in Mapusa where people were found to perennially dump garbage by the roadside.
In order to discourage people from dumping waste at these spots, the civic authorities had ingeniously beautified the black spots with ornamental plants.
The experiment paid off and people had stopped dumping waste at these spots. The High Court of Bombay at Goa which was monitoring the black spots issue had then praised the initiative of the Mapusa Municipal Council.
A spot visit by The Goan at some of the locations in town has revealed that people have started dumping trash just metres away from the beautified black spots.
Heaps of waste some bundled in sacks and plastic bags were found dumped at the spots on a daily basis. Such spots were noticed by the roadside in Duler, Peddem, Angod, Khorlim, Cunchelim and several other areas.
On several occasions, the civic body manages to clear the spots but they re-appear immediately after the waste is lifted.
Secondly, the stray dogs rummage through the waste giving an ugly look to the area.
Even open spaces have not been spared by locals who used them as dumping points for household waste.
According to Jawaharlal Shetye, a resident of Mapusa, the municipality’s door-to-door garbage collection has failed and that is why people were dumping the waste in the open.
He also said that the municipality staff, particularly the supervisors, were inefficient and failed to do their work conscientiously.
“The municipality is not insisting on segregation of garbage at source. The workers who come to the door collect mixed waste from the people. Secondly, the door-to-door waste collection is not going on smoothly. The MMC has hiked the garbage tax but failed to provide proper service vis-à-vis garbage collection,” Shetye said.
He further informed that the civic body had assured to fix CCTV cameras to intercept offenders who dump waste in the open but failed to honour its promise.
Former chairperson, Ryan Braganza, during whose term the black spots were identified and beautified, also said that door-to-door garbage collection was not happening properly.
He also blamed the Covid-19 disease for certain plans going haywire.
“After Covid struck, the civic authorities lowered its guard. A lot of rules were relaxed and things went back to old ways,” Braganza said.
This news is reported by The Goan. To read more GOA news visit The Goan
