The mini-pickup which was found dumping garbage by the side of the service road in Bastora.
MAPUSA
A mini-pickup was caught red-handed while dumping rubbish by the side of the service road at Menezes Vaddo in Bastora. Incidentally, the mini-pickup was caught by the panchayat staff during a cleanliness drive being conducted at the location.
A large amount of rubbish has been dumped on the service road between the Tar Junction and Green Park Junction. The Bastora Panchayat had launched a cleanliness drive at the location on Wednesday. At around 12 noon, a mini-pickup filled with rubbish had allegedly gone to the site to dump waste.
Panchayat staff caught the driver and a worker while dumping rubbish from a rickshaw by the roadside. They immediately informed the sarpanch and panchayat. Sarpanch Rakhi Naroji, panch Sanila Salgaonkar, and former sarpanch Savio Martins rushed to the spot. The Mapusa police were also notified.
The panchayat obtained the phone number of the mini-pickup owner and contacted him. The rubbish contractor, who is based in Ponda, initially went to the site and promised to pay the fine.
However, after that, there was no response from him. The matter was then handed over to the police for further action. The rickshaw driver and the worker later cleaned the rubbish from the site. “Maximum fine will be levied by the panchayat on those caught dumping rubbish in open spaces in the village,” said Naroji.
Two days ago, residents caught two workers from a chicken centre in Moira dumping rubbish in the area. After that, the panchayat and villagers warned the owner and workers of the chicken centre not to dump waste again.