MAPUSA
Several villagers of Calangute living near the solid waste treatment plant in Saligao have complained of foul smell coming out of the facility, saying that the waste treatment plant managers have miserably failed to tackle the problem.
The Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) on Friday visited the plant site and informed the officials that the putrid smell emanating from the treatment plant was creating unhygienic conditions in the nearby villages and causing a lot of distress to the residents around.
Residents of Orda, Saipem, Candolim and Calangute have complained that they were getting a foul smell from the plant.
“From 6 pm to 10 pm, the stink is unbearable. People cannot even eat their food. When the plant was being installed here, we were told that we could come anytime and hold a picnic at the plant site. But the stink continues to be a big worry,” said Premanand Diukar, president of CCF.
A delegation of the CCF met the solid waste management plant manager and handed a memorandum urging him to find an early solution to the air pollution caused by the waste treated at the plant.
The state-of-the-art waste treatment plant was initially set up with a capacity to treat garbage of 100 tonnes per day.
It was said that waste of only coastal villages would be treated at the plant but subsequently, waste of entire North Goa was brought to the plant resulting in the piling of untreated garbage around the plant site.
“As a result, air pollution took place and the foul smell started travelling across the residential areas of nearby villages affecting the health of people,” Diukar said.
He said the CCF had filed a complaint with the plant authorities in 2019 but the management of the facility failed to resolve the issue as the stink continued to haunt the locals.
Recently, the capacity of the waste treatment plant was increased to 250 tonnes per day.
“We were assured no foul smell will be generated and air pollution will be controlled through modern technology, but it looks like the technology has failed,” the CCF president added.
The CCF delegation met the plant manager and urged him to resolve the problem at the earliest.
A copy of the memorandum has also been sent to the Waste Management Minister and Goa State Pollution Control Board.
