VASCO
Stepping up efforts to promote 'Mission Clean Vasco' and to tackle garbage in the port town, Mormugao Municipal Council Chief Officer Deepali Naik on Monday asked various schools in Vasco, to ensure cleanliness in and around the school campus.
Addressing a meeting with teachers of schools from Vasco on Monday. Naik informed the schools that an MMC inspector, MMC supervisor, a supervisor from the contractor and garbage collectors would collect garbage from their respective schools.
Naik informed them that Governor Mridula Sinha would convene a meeting with stakeholders in December and advised them not to raise issues pertaining to cleanliness before the governor.
Naik also informed the teachers that the council would conduct a workshop on how to make paper bags during the summer holidays and she requested them to attend the workshop.
“The teachers, in turn, can teach students as part of work experience and sell the paper bags to vendors to curb plastic menace,” said Naik, while advising the teachers to contact her office with their suggestions, if any.
Later speaking to The Goan, some teachers were surprised to be told not to raise issues pertaining to cleanliness before the governor.
“Swachh does not mean only garbage, it also means cleanliness of the surrounding. There are many drains full of household waste near our school, which has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” said one teacher.
Another teacher added that students have been affected by unhealthy surrounding and complaints to the health officer and the council had yielded no results.
Asked why there had been a stress only on garbage, especially since unhygienic surrounding was also part of the Mission Clean Vasco, Naik said: “The first priority is to tackle the garbage menace and then to tackle other unhygienic surroundings.”
When reminded that unhygienic surroundings had also affected public health and should have been accorded equal importance, Naik declined to comment.
“The meeting of teachers from Vasco was convened as the governor has set December as the deadline to all cities to be garbage-free,” said Naik.
“By November end, every city has to complete its task of making the city garbage-free and in December, inspections will be carried out by a group. On December 16, the governor will declare the best garbage-free city and the council will be awarded a cash amount of Rs 1 lakh,” the MMC chief officer said.
