MARGAO
The slum areas of Margao spread across Moti Dongor to Azad Nagar to Khareband may soon be connected to the sewerage project.
While work on laying the sewer lines is presently in progress at Moti Dongor, the PWD and the Sewerage Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa (SIDCGL) are bracing up to kick-start work to connect the Azad Nagar houses to the underground sewerage line.
If Margao MLA Digambar Kamat is to be believed, around 70 per cent of the work to connect the Moti Dongor area to the sewerage line is completed to date, adding that work on the project is progressing satisfactorily.
Similarly, he said work on laying the sewer lines to connect the Azad Nagar locality will start immediately, adding that the process of connecting the city to the underground sewerage project is presently underway.
Saying that Margao is much better in terms of sewerage connectivity, the MLA has pointed out that around 90 per cent of the Aquem area of the city is connected to the underground line.
“I am of the firm opinion that every house in the city should be connected to the underground project. There cannot be any excuses. We have got the government to work out a scheme where the sewerage connections are issued first and the cost is recovered through the water bills of the consumers over a period of time,” he said.
He, however, hastened to add that one cannot get the city connected to the underground line overnight.
To a question, the Margao MLA has exuded confidence that it should take around six months before the entire Margao city is connected to the underground network.
Kamat’s statement assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the Public Interest Litigation filed by a resident of Navelim Antonio Alvares complaining of rampant discharge of raw sewage in the city stormwater nullahs and drains, which later finds its way to the Salpem Lake at Navelim and other water bodies, including river Sal.
Taking cognizance of the submissions made by Alavares, the High Court had recently directed the Margao Municipal Council to get the households of Azad Nagar to apply for the connections, as a result of which around 101 households have so far applied for the sewerage connections.
