MARGAO
Another portion of the Sonsodo waste treatment shed came crumbling down on Thursday, raising questions over the stability of the structure and the safety of workers engaged in the waste handling work.
If a small portion of the shed had given way around three and half months ago on March 26 last over the excess waste stacked inside the structure, a portion of the shed, the wall on the northern portion, adjoining the inert landfill site came crumbling down on Thursday.
The incident is believed to have occurred shortly after midnight.
Fortunately, no one was around the site when the shed came crashing down. Though the incident may not affect the daily unloading of the city’s waste into the shed, questions have been raised over the safety of the structure given that garbage-laden vehicles enter the shed every day, Besides, a host of workers are engaged in the baling of dry and plastic waste inside the shed.
Margao Municipal officials rushed to Sonsodo after hearing the news of the collapse of the shed.
Municipal engineers were trying to figure out the reasons behind the collapse of the portion of the shed adjoining the land fill site. “We could understand the collapse of the portion of the shed last time round since it was stacked with waste. There wasn’t any waste staked near the portion of the shed which gave way today. This shows that there’s a problem which needs to be addressed”, the engineer said.
Sources, however, informed that there was hardly any upkeep and maintenance of the shed by the Municipality. This is amply evident by the fact that it took two years for the Civic body to repair and replace the damaged roof of the shed. “The Civic body had ignored and neglected the maintenance of the shed. The roof of the shed was fixed by the Civic body last week after the matter came under the scanner of the High Court”, informed sources.
Sources further informed that water seepage into the shed was rampant over the last two years. In fact, municipal garbage truck drivers had been complaining of water and slurry accumulation inside the shed for want of maintenance over the last several months.
