MAPUSA
The city of Mapusa has been hit by a dust storm due to ongoing sewerage and road widening works.
It’s a storm which has hit the residents and pedestrians, particularly the two-wheeler owners with ferocious intensity.
Many of the main arterial roads and some interior roads have been dug to lay the sewerage line and some due to road widening.
The street from the Milagres Church to Mapusa market and the road from Mapusa Police Station up to DCM College, Khorlim has been worst affected. The road from Gandhi Chowk up to Parra junction and other internal roads in the city are equally bad.
Most of the roads have been dug up to either lay the sewerage pipes and the chambers. At other places, beautification and road widening works were going on at very slow pace.
Residents and commercial establishment owners in the city are agitated over the ongoing sewerage and road widening works going on at snail’s pace, as dust pollution has affected houses and the shops in the area.
“Dust pollution normally does not come under the ambit of the Goa State Pollution Control Board,” said Jose Manuel Noronha, Chairman of GSPCB. “But all the same I will send my engineer to Mapusa and ask him to collect samples from some areas around the town,” he added.
He said the engineer will prepare a report on the dust pollution and submit it to the department on Monday.
“The agency concerned that digs the roads has to sprinkle water while the work is in progress. At the most we will ask them to do so,” he further said.
The work on the sewerage line was contracted to Simplex Infrastructures Ltd in September 2012 and was supposed to be completed within a period of three years. The sewerage line will cover a length of almost 35 kms in Mapusa. Besides manholes, the company will construct approximately 1,800 inspection pits along the sides of the roads for connection.
The total cost of the project for Mapusa and Calangute was tendered for Rs 152 crore.
The assistant engineer of Simplex Infrastructures Ltd has acknowledged that they could not sprinkle water in all the areas due to shortage of water.
“We are aware of the dust pollution. We do sprinkle water in many areas but at some places we cannot do so as we find it difficult to procure water,” said Atanu Das, assistant engineer of Simplex Infrastructures Ltd.
