the goan I network
MARGAO
Gross illegalities, stench, filth, use of domestic cylinders et al welcomed Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai as she took a close look at the gaddas lining along the Konkan railway wall at the Aquem side of the Margao railway station on Friday.
The ground reality only once again raised the oft repeated question “ as to why the government authorities, be it the Margao Municipality, Fire services, health, FDA, etc prefer to turn a blind eye to the illegalities carried out right under the nose of the officials.
Taken aback at the illegalities, the Municipal chairperson has vowed to curb the nuisance and the mess without succumbing to any pressure. But, when the media sought to know whether the nuisance and health hazard has remained untouched because of pressure, she wriggled out of the situation by denying the claim.
While the inaction on the part of the Municipal body against the nuisance remains a mystery, what took the scribes as well as the MMC chairperson was the fact that domestic LPG cylinders were brazenly being used at the gaddas for cooking food, located just metres away from the Margao fire station.
Deputy Director, Fire Nitin Raikar, who was called by the Municipal chairperson at the site to have a first hand information about the use of domestic LPG cylinders in the gaddas, which is covered with plastic material prone to fire incident, assured to inspect the place, but had no answer when the media sought to know why the fire services did not carry out the inspection as a matter of routine exercise.
Babita told the media that the KRC officials have now requested the Margao Municipality to keep the Aquem side of the Margao railway station clean and hygienic. “The gadda owners just discharge their waste and dirty water into the clogged nullah. I have seen them cleaning fish and throwing the waste in the drain. This is not acceptable and I will ask the Chief Officer to take a serious view of the ground reality outside the railway station and clean up the area,” she said.
Conceding that encroachments along the Konkan railway wall is rampant and that the encroachers are not afraid of the local civic body, the Chairperson said that the Municipality will also write to the health authorities to inspect the area and initiate necessary action from their side.
Gaddas along the KRC wall on the Aquem side of the Margao railway station has been the talking point in the commercial capital over the years, with all the concerned authorities, beginning with the Margao Municipal Council, literally dragging their feet to crack a whip for reasons best known to them.
