MARGAO
An uproar was witnessed at the KTC bus stand on Saturday morning after a group of residents questioned the dumping of debris which contained metal by the transport corporation for land filling.
The KTC bus depot manager, however, defended the action in its own property, saying though the debris looks like mixed waste, including metal waste, the same will be segregated before the metal and other waste is disposed of as per the norms.
Fatorda police also rushed to the KTC owned land as the residents complained of violation of norms over the waste disposal.
To resolve the issue, a joint inspection of the area has been fixed for Monday by the Margao Municipal Council along with the KTC officials on how to go about the matter. Margao Municipal Councillor Johnny Crasto also made his presence felt in the wake of complaints lodged by the residents.
A resident Nitin Nagvekar told the media that though the debris was being dumped inside the KTC property, no one has the right to dump mixed waste or debris for land filling. “Just look at the waste brought for disposal. It contains mud, metal, plastic, broken tube lights and worn out shoes. My only question is can this be allowed to be disposed of like this on the land. The land may belong to the KTC, but can an authority do whatever it wants to do”, he questioned.
The presence of police was requisitioned as a precautionary measure. Santosh Mirajkar
KTC depot manager, Girish Gawde, however, has begged to differ. He pointed out that the KTC bus stand generates all types of waste, including wet, dry, plastic, besides the debris. “We have worked out a system wherein the waste is first dumped on our property, which is then segregated. Though the debris contains the metal and other waste, our workers will get it segregated before its disposal”, he said.
Gawde informed that he had a meeting with Margao Municipal Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes earlier this week to work out the process for waste disposal. “The land belongs to the KTC, but we have seen unscrupulous miscreants dumping waste on our property. We have now decided to build a wall as a fencing to protect our property and stop the outside waste from finding its way in our land”, he said.
