MARGAO
A week after suspected dengue claimed the life of a five-year-old boy, Rumdamol housing board is literally sitting on a time bomb as open grounds, abandoned vehicles, and tyres, besides accumulation of water, have turned areas into mosquito breeding hotspots in the village.
A joint inspection carried out by the Core Committee of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme revealed that all isn’t well in the village, which plays host to a large floating migrant population.
Members of the inspection team came across earthmoving machinery filling up a pond and garbage dump with mud in a bid to stop water accumulation and stagnation to prevent mosquito breeding. The work was expected to end soon, but the open ground has become a bone of contention with the Panchayat saying the ownership of the open ground is partly with the Goa Housing Board and the Comunidade. In a bid to fix the responsibility, the Core Committee has recommended issuing notices to the Goa Housing Board and the Comunidade to secure their property to stop open garbage dumping.
A member of the Core Committee, Dr Vallabh Nadkarni, heading the Curtorim Health Centre as the Health officer, said the team came across several mosquito breeding spots in the village. “We have notified the breeding spots to the officials of Rumdamol village Panchayat for necessary action,” he said.
In this respect, GOACAN Coordinator Roland Martins told the Primary Health Centre to issue letters to the Comundade and Housing Board to whom part of the property (open ground) belongs. “The open ground needs to be secured by the owners so that open waste dumping is prohibited at any cost,” Dr Nadkarni said.
The Core team directed to issue a letter to the Rumdamol village Panchayat regarding fencing of their area in the open plot playing host to a dumping ground. The panchayat has been told to display a board with details on the MRF installed at the site.
The Core team also found several abandoned vehicles, including open rickshaws, in public places which have turned into breeding spots, due to water accumulation. To take the exercise to a logical conclusion, the Core team has decided to issue a letter to Traffic Cell Margao for disposal of the abandoned vehicles in Rumdamol.
Deputy Health Director, NVBDCP Dr Kalpana Mahatme expressed her concern over the situation at Rumdamol. She raised apprehensions that there could be an upsurge of dengue cases in the housing board with garbage strewn around, vehicles and tyres abandoned in the open, playing host to breeding grounds.
“The abandoned vehicles and tyres do pose a problem because dengue mosquito requires just 5 ml of water to lay hundreds of eggs. Since the Housing Board plays host to clusters and congestion, there can be a surge in the dengue case unless the authorities stem the rot,” she said.
Activist Martins said the death of the five-year-old boy due to suspected dengue is a wake-up call for the civil society and the concerned authorities to wake up to the reality and initiate action.
Rumdamol Panchayat member Saimulla Fanibandh said people dump the waste in the Housing Board area. “The panchayat is blamed for the ills after the boy died due to suspected dengue. We can't control everything. People should know how to segregate and dispose of the waste. We will install cameras at the Housing Board area and fine people dumping garbage,” he asserted.
Illegal rooms and houses
The Core Committee came across illegal rooms and houses in the Rumdamol Housing Board lacking proper sanitation facilities. In fact, the health team had last week found multi-dwelling units in the Housing Board area, with rooms leased out to tenants.
After the inspection, the Core team told the Panchayat to identify the illegal rooms and houses where proper sanitation facilities were not available and garbage was being left in the open.
The Panchayat was also directed to hold Garbage Committee meetings on a regular basis and to send the minutes of the meeting to Curtorim Primary Health Centre.
Scrapyards in Sao Jose de Areal
The Core Committee took stock of the situation at Nessai Industrial Estate. The Core team also inspected the scrap yards at the industrial estate in Sao Jose de Areal village on Thursday.
After the team found workers employed in the units, the field manager of IDC was directed to send letters to the Labour Department regarding the labour force working on the premises and the type of work carried out.
The IDC was also directed to clean the blocked drainages where there was stagnation of water. The team also came across two abandoned rickshaws loaded with unused tyres and other scrap material. The team directed the field manager IDC to dispose it of before they became breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
