MARGAO
Where are the Margao Municipal Council garbage compactors gone? Have they all outlived their utility after wear and tear? Or, has the A-class Municipal body failed to plan procurement of the compactors on time, leaving hapless Municipal workers drafted for garbage collection with no option than to physically lift hundreds of waste-laden bins from across the city everyday.
With the fleet of garbage compactors now reduced to just four vehicles and with breakdowns literally the order of the day, middle-aged Municipal workers employed for garbage collection are forced to bear the brunt of manually lifting the garbage bins for unloading of waste into the vehicles. In fact, the workers are being forced to do the job what was done mechanically by the garbage compactors.
The MMC had a fleet of garbage compactors, which now stands at just four and which have outlived its utility. Of the four, only three are in working condition, but the four vehicles are not reliable, with frequent breakdowns literally the order of the day.
When The Goan inquired with the MMC sanitation section to shed light on the mechanical lifting of the waste, officials admitted that only four garbage compactors are in running condition. The officials, however, hastened to add that the compactors have all outlived their utility, with water and sludge seepage on the roads, which is literally the order of the day.
While the garbage workers slog out on the field to lift the waste laden bins into the trucks, the sanitary section informed that procurement of garbage compactors to replace the ageing vehicles now rests with the garbage management cell established by the civic body and headed
by an engineer from the
technical section.
A civic official pointed out that there’s a clear mismatch between the garbage compactors available with the civic body and the requirements, with an official saying that the Corporation of the City of Panaji is equipped with a fleet of compactors, around 17 to be precise.
A worker drafted for the garbage collection said that it’s humanly impossible to lift all the waste bins, laden
with garbage, and unload it in the trucks.
“There are certain areas of the city where the compactors do not make their presence felt to lift waste. Manual lifting of the waste has put the workers in a tight spot. The entire system of lifting waste from the city has gone awry,” informed a beleaguered worker, who have called for measures to address their plight of lifting each and every
garbage bin and unloading it into trucks.
MMC Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai sympathizing with the Municipal workers admitted that the workers are forced to physically lift the garbage bins every day.
In fact, Babita said she would request the Director of Municipal Administration or the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) to make arrangements and ensure that at least two garbage compactors are placed at the disposal of MMC on utmost priority.
“I sympathize with our Municipal workers employed for garbage collection. I am aware that they have to manually lift the bins for want of compactors. I will immediately write to the DMA and GSUDA to make some arrangement and send at least two compactors to Margao,” Babita added.
