MARGAO
If sewage has raised a stink at Fatorda near the district hospital, non-collection of garbage from the nearby SGPDA retail fish market has come back to haunt the authorities.
In fact, officials of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) and the Margao Municipal Council have come face to face over the lifting of waste generated in the mega retail market, which has come under public scrutiny over the unhygienic conditions triggered by non-collection of waste.
In the past, both SGPDA and the MMC had crossed swords over the question of payment of fees for waste collection from the market.
SGPDA Member Secretary Shivprasad Murari has dashed off a letter to the Margao Municipal Chief Officer, Melvyn Vaz, drawing his attention to the non-clearance of waste, due to which the area is now in a highly unhygienic state, causing immense inconvenience to the public and traders. “The accumulated waste has led to foul odour, unsanitary conditions, and poses a serious health risk to the general public, including vendors and customers who are visiting the said market,” Murari said.
He added: “Further, the matter has now gained public attention and has been reported on social media, reflecting poorly on the administration and governance of public spaces.”
The SGPDA Member Secretary further drew the attention of the MMC Chief Officer to the fact that such non-collection of garbage has been repeated several times. “In this regard, it is requested to take immediate steps to collect the garbage/waste material from the designated site/premises of the SGPDA market area on a day-to-day basis so that the general public shall not suffer,” he said.
A senior MMC official, however, wondered whether it is not the duty and responsibility of the SGPDA to segregate the waste before handing it over to the MMC collection team. “What we normally find in the SGPDA retail market is that the waste generated in the mega market is just dumped at the corner of the parking stand. This is creating problems for the municipal workers to segregate the waste before it is transported to the Cacora waste treatment plant for disposal,” remarked Margao Municipal engineer Deepak Desai.
That’s not all. The municipal engineer pointed out that the MMC had recently sent a letter to the SGPDA to install garbage collection bins in the market for the vendors to dispose of the waste. “Instead of dumping the waste in the open in the parking lot, the PDA should install bins in the market to facilitate the civic workers to collect the waste directly from the bins. This would also eliminate the eyesore in the market complex,” Desai added.
