MARGAO
Has the BJP-backed Margao Municipal Council headed by Chairperson Damu Shirodkar any solution to the fire and smoke billowing from the garbage mound near the KTC bus stand that has refused to die down in the last few days, posing a health hazard to the citizens?
The Margao fire brigade has been battling the fire and smoke over the last three days, consuming around 50,000 litres of water in the process, besides fuel, time and energy of the firemen to bring the blaze under control, but in vain.
Reason: Fire officials pointed out that a solution to the fire lies in churning the waste and capping the mound with mud.
While the fire brigade has been battling the fire over the last four days, the fire and smoke have not been brought under control as water cannot reach underneath the dump.
In this context, the fire brigade had sent an SOS to the Margao municipality to deploy heavy earth-moving machinery to churn up the waste. A JCB machine, sources pointed out, did make its presence at the waste mound, but is believed to have returned with the operator saying that a bigger machine is required for the job.
Fire officials, however, said that thousands of litres of water have gone to waste at the waste mound. “We have to date sprayed around 50,000 litres of water. We have lost precious fuel, besides the time and energy of the firemen,” a fireman said while hoping that the Margao municipality will take serious cognizance of the ground reality and act on priority.
The official added: “We rush to the mound near the KTC bus stand after receiving calls from citizens and thick black smoke is billowing from the dump posing a health hazard. Every time we receive the call, our tenders turn out and extinguish the fire, only to receive the calls again early morning.”
Meanwhile, aggrieved citizens have decided to file complaints with the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to penalise the Margao civic body under the Polluter Pays Principle.
The MMC was once pulled up by the pollution control board for the Sonsodo fire, imposing a fine of over Rs one crore under the Polluter Pays Principle. The matter, however, is pending after the civic body challenged the GSPCB direction.
