After blaming contractor for poor waste collection, MMC’s own neglect comes to light; Health dept threatens to seal fish and meat market
MAPUSA
The duplicity of the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) has been laid bare.
Days after the Chief Officer pulled up the garbage contractor for failing to maintain cleanliness in town, the Urban Health Centre (UHC), Mapusa has slapped a final notice on the same Chief Officer – ordering him to clean up the filth and restore order in the Mapusa fish and meat market within seven days, failing which the premises will be sealed indefinitely.
The notice, issued by Urban Health Officer Dr Dinesh Parab, points to gross negligence and administrative failure on the part of the municipal council, which has ignored repeated directions to improve sanitary conditions at the market.
According to the UHC, despite multiple complaints from citizens and vendors and even a joint inspection carried out earlier this month by officials from several departments including the MMC, no concrete action has been taken by the civic body.
“Unhygienic conditions persist, posing a serious health hazard and providing a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and other vector-borne diseases,” Dr Parab noted in his communication, adding that the MMC had been warned nearly six months ago to take corrective measures.
Ironically, the final notice from the health authorities comes barely weeks after the Chief Officer Chandrakant Shetkar himself issued a show-cause notice to the garbage contractor for not performing door-to-door waste collection properly.
The contrast has not gone unnoticed by Mapusa’s residents, who see it as a case of “pot calling the kettle black.”
During the latest inspection, led by the Deputy Collector of Mapusa and organised by the UHC with civic watchdog GOACAN, the fish and meat market complex was found in a shocking state of disrepair – with rotting walls, broken bottles, stagnant water and heaps of garbage dumped in corners.
The market, which houses fish, chicken and mutton stalls, lacks basic facilities like toilets, running water, and access for persons with disabilities.
A copy of the notice has been forwarded to the Directorate of Health Services and the Deputy Collector, Bardez, for further action, along with an inspection report detailing serious structural and hygiene deficiencies.
Vendors and shoppers alike say the market has become a symbol of civic apathy.
“The chief officer is quick to issue warnings to others but refuses to clean up his own backyard,” a frustrated vendor remarked.
