MARGAO
The Margao municipality finds itself in a tight spot on how to go about stopping the Azad Nagar locality of the commercial capital from discharging wastewater into the stormwater drains, which later find its way into the Salpem lake.
For, the PWD Water Supply division has submitted to the civic body a list of around 140 residents, who have been sanctioned water connections by the department. While rules empower the civic body to crack a whip against households discharging wastewater into the drains, the Margao municipality has suddenly realised that the responsibility also lies on the government agencies to lay a network at the migrant inhabited area to channelize the wastewater to the underground sewage line located nearby.
Sources in the know informed that the municipality is believed to have drawn the attention of the local MLA Digambar Kamat to seek the intervention of the government agencies in addressing the issue, given that the work involves laying a common facility for the discharge of the wastewater.
A senior MMC official pointed out that the civic body is looking at a solution instead of penalising the residents, adding that unless the water discharged from the locality is channelised to the underground sewerage network through a network, the issue will remain unresolved.
The MMC’s anxiety is understandable given that Salpem lake has come under the radar of the High Court through a Public Interest Litigation filed by a resident of Navelim Antonio Alvares.
At one of the hearings earlier this year, the petitioner had suspected that wastewater from the slum areas of the city is also finding its way into the stormwater nullahs carrying water to Salpem lake.
The Margao municipal council had earlier this year issued notices to 100-odd for discharging the wastewater into the drains.
Sources in the know, however, pointed out that a solution is still not forthcoming to the issue of sewage and waste water discharge into the gutters and stormwater drains even though the High Court had set timeline to the agencies to put an effective mechanism in place to stop the sewage and waste water discharge into the drains.
