Civic council yet to find lasting fix to annual problem
BLACK SPOT TURNED WORK STATION: Civic staff forced to segregate garbage at a black spot near the Zonal Agriculture Office, Mapusa, highlighting the town’s unresolved disposal crisis.
MAPUSA
The garbage menace in Mapusa has once again resurfaced, with black spots across the town turning into dumping grounds despite repeated assurances by the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC).
What is striking this time is not just the heaps of uncollected waste but the fact that this has become an annual ritual – a recurring governance failure that coincides with the Chaturthi exodus of civic workers.
Every year, soon during the Ganesh Chaturthi, nearly half of the municipal workforce – most of them migrant workers – return to their native States, leaving the door-to-door collection service crippled.
This year was no different. With civic staff on leave, unattended garbage piled up across wards, forcing residents to dump waste in open spaces.
“This has become an endless cycle. Workers leave every year during Chaturthi, and the council acts as if it is taken by surprise. Why can’t they plan ahead?” asked Mapusa resident Sitesh More.
While the civic body had promised to install CCTV cameras at major black spots to catch offenders from surrounding villages, little has moved on the ground. Without deterrents, the open spaces continue to attract fresh waste as soon as the previous lot is cleared.
Residents say the situation is worsened by gaps in daily collection even before the festival season.
“Some days, no one comes to collect the garbage. What are people supposed to do? Obviously they dump it outside,” said Meera Kamat, a resident of Altinho.
Councillors, meanwhile, blame the absence of a permanent dumping site after the Assagao plateau debacle.
But even after outsourcing garbage collection in 50 per cent of wards to a private contractor, the system has failed to keep pace.
Locals argue the civic body needs a long-term, locally grounded solution.
“Mapusa cannot depend entirely on a migrant workforce. It is time to create a community-based waste management system with neighbourhood composting units and stricter enforcement against violators,” suggested activist Jawaharlal Shetye.
Mapusa Municipal Council Chairperson Priya Mishal said the garbage situation has improved but admitted there are still gaps, particularly due to staff shortages during the Chaturthi season.
“We cannot cover the entire town with CCTV cameras at once, so the installation will be carried out in phases. An estimate of Rs 1 crore has been prepared for the procurement of surveillance cameras,” Mishal said.
With black spots mushrooming and residents losing patience, MMC’s inability to break free from its annual “Chaturthi paralysis” has turned waste management into one of the town’s most persistent embarrassments.
