MARGAO
The pathetic state of affairs at Sonsodo, which has now come under the High Court scanner, came to the fore again when Margao MLA Digambar Kamat landed in an open and waterlogged drain at the site on Thursday morning.
Kamat escaped unhurt, but the incident threw a host of questions for the Margao Municipal city fathers and babus to answer, including the moot question how come the drain was left open midway without any covering by slabs.
The Margao MLA had descended at the Sonsodo waste dumping site on Thursday morning with Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar in tow to review and take stock of the waste disposal situation in the wake of the High Court taking serious cognizance of the pathetic state of affairs at Sonsodo.
Kamat was inspecting when his leg landed in the knee deep drain which was clogged and waterlogged. MMC Chairperson Shirodkar lent a helping hand to pull Kamat out from the drain. “My leg landed in the waterlogged drain when we were walking at the site. The drain was not visible at all since it was waterlogged with waste strewn around. Luckily, I have escaped unhurt without any injuries,” Kamat said, while directing the officials to get the waterlogged drain covered with slabs to avert any tragedy.
A visibly agitated MMC chairperson promised to take up with the Municipal engineers seeking explanation how the drain was left uncovered and waterlogged. “Any one would have landed in the drain since one cannot make out whether it’s a drain or a plain surface,” Shirodkar said.
Workers engaged by the civic body at Sonsodo in private said they have been working in hazardous conditions at the waste dumping site. “We hope the incident of the drain will open the eyes of the Margao Municipality that all is not well at Sonsodo. Just imagine a situation wherein one amongst us had landed in the drain and broken a leg or hand,” remarked a worker.
