Residents face mounting waste and civic inaction
TAKING MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS: Councillor of Ward 13, Kamal D’Souza, supervises garbage lifting in her ward late Thursday evening following a complete breakdown of door-to-door waste collection in Mapusa.
MAPUSA
The stench of civic neglect is growing stronger in Mapusa, as door-to-door garbage collection remains erratic across several wards – a fallout of unpaid dues, worker unrest, and municipal mismanagement.
For weeks now, residents in parts of the town have been grappling with irregular waste collection, forced to live with bags of wet waste piling up outside their homes.
The crisis, simmering for months, has flared up during the Diwali festival, as several sanitation workers went on leave, worsening the situation.
At the heart of the problem lies a chain reaction – the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) has reportedly failed to pay the private contractor handling waste collection for wards 11 to 20 for the last five months.
In turn, the contractor has not paid the workers’ salaries for two to three months, leading to a staff exodus and patchy garbage collection.
“It’s a queer situation. The municipal council has not paid the contractor, and the contractor has not paid the workers. Citizens are paying the price for this administrative chaos,” said Kamal D’Souza, opposition councillor of Ward 13, lashing out at the municipal leadership. “This clearly shows that the chairperson and vice-chairperson are not competent to run the council,” she added.
Unable to watch her residents suffer any longer, D’Souza hired a private rickshaw late on Thursday evening to clear the heaps of wet waste that had been lying unattended for days.
Several councillors from the ruling group, especially from the Khorlim area, have been facing public pressure due to erratic door-to-door waste collection.
Ward 16 councillor Viraj Phadke admitted that his ward had also faced irregular collection until recently.
“The administration needs to get its act together, otherwise people will start blaming councillors for service failures. Ultimately, citizens should not suffer,” he said.
In contrast, Ward 9 councillor Kayle Braganza said her ward had not experienced any major issues.
“Irregularities are expected during festivals. People should also be mindful of how much waste they generate on such days,” she remarked.
However, residents across several other wards say their patience is wearing thin.
“What are we supposed to do with wet waste sitting in buckets for days?” one local resident asked in frustration.
Sources within the council said the civic body withheld payments due to the contractor’s “unsatisfactory performance.” But several councillors argue that the council’s indecision is compounding the problem.
“If the contractor isn’t performing, terminate the contract – don’t make citizens suffer,” one councillor said.
As the festival lights dim and the garbage heaps grow, the situation in Mapusa underscores a deeper malaise – a breakdown in accountability.
In this domino effect of neglect, the residents are once again left to deal with the mess.
