MARGAO
There’s finally good news in store for Madgavkars hit by overflowing soakpits and septic tanks over the years.
At last, the Margao sewerage project will finally cover the entire city, with the Goa Sewage Corporation and JICA promising to complete all pending sewerage works by May 30 on Statehood Day. However, to ensure that commercial establishments, including hotels and restaurants, besides households obtain the sewerage connection, the Margao Municipal Council will starting cracking a whip against establishments, which have failed to take the connection, warning to disconnect the water connections to the households and establishments.
Addressing the media after a meeting with officials of PWD, Sewerage Corporation, JICA at the STP Plant, Sirvodem, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said both the sewerage corporation and JICA will complete work on the sewage chambers before May 30.
That’s not all. The Margao MLA said the PWD officials as well as MMC councilors representing Margao city are busy going door to door with a plea to the citizens to take the sewerage connections. “After a high-level meeting with PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar and other senior officials, a deadline has been set to complete all the sewerage works, both by the Sewerage corporation and the JICA by May 30. Most of the work on the project is complete in all respects, barring manholes,” he said.
The Margao MLA further said that all Sulabh toilets in the city will also be connected to the sewerage network, adding that work on the project should take place within 15-20 days.
Saying that households in the city can go for subsidized sewerage connection, Kamat said the government has extended the subsidy scheme to the house connections under the JICA sewerage scheme. “In the Aquem area, the PWD has received around 337 applications of which sanction has been accorded to 230 applications. Around three contractors are on the job to issue the connections at the rate of Rs 3000 for apartments and Rs 5000 for individual households,” he said.
Commenting on the main sewerage line, Kamat said the government has floated three tenders to replace the aging underground line and lay a new line between Comba and the STP plant at Sirvodem.
