the goan I network
MARGAO
How many more meetings would it require for the Margao Sub-Divisional Magistrate to put a sanitation plan in place at the Cutbona fishing jetty, recently hit by dengue and where the 50-seater toilets promised around half-a-decade ago are yet to see the light of day?
This question has come to the fore at the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Margao Uday Prabhudesai has called for a joint meeting with agencies to discuss the action on the sanitation front at the Cutbona fishing jetty. For, the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Margao must have convened a host of meetings with representatives of agencies to draw up an action plan on the sanitation front at the Cutbona jetty. The ground reality remains unchanged.
The promised eco-toilets are yet to make their presence at the Cutbona jetty and in the absence of toilet facilities, the thousands of migrant workers, employed on the fishing vessels, either answer nature’s call in the adjoining fields or in the river Sal.
Officials of the Directorate of Fisheries, Senior town planer, PHC health officer, Salcete BDO, Velim sarpanch, Inspector of Civil Supplies, besides consumer activists Ramona Almeida and Roland Martins have been invited by the SDM for the Tuesday’s meeting.
Sanitation has been a burning issue plaguing the Cutbona fishing jetty, besides the problem relating to the screening of the migrant workers, hailing from the malaria endemic areas of Odisha, Jharkhand etc.
Sources said the Fisheries directorate, which has taken over the Cutbona fishing jetty from the Cutbona Boat Owners Union, cannot abdicate its responsibility of providing sanitation amenities at the jetty. Officials, including Health officials pointed out that the Fisheries Director cannot pass the buck on the Tourism department, by saying the Directorate has requested the Tourism to provide the eco toilets pending a permanent solution. “The Fisheries Director is now the owner of the Cutbona fishing jetty. The Director should get the amenities at the jetty, more so when the government talks big about Swachh Bharat Mission and Open Defecation Free (ODF) programme,” remarked an activist.
The Cutbona fishing jetty is a fishing hub in South Goa, with around 200 fishing vessels operating from the jetty and employing more than 4000-odd migrant workers during the peak fishing season.
