MARGAO
When fire broke out at Sonsodo in the wee hours of Sunday, Margao fire brigade rushed to the site and immediately requisitioned the services of the Verna fire personnel.
Since 2.15 am till 11 am on Sunday, the fire tenders were repeatedly shuttling between Sonsodo and the water source to fill the tenders.
How about the fire system put in place at the Sonsodo waste management site upon directions of the High Court? Why was the fire system, set up at a cost of lakhs of rupees, not immediately activated when the waste was engulfed by the raging fire? Has the civic body ever trained the security personnel or workers engaged on garbage in fire-fighting operations in times of emergencies. Is there no dedicated water pipeline to Sonsodo, supplying water round the clock to the waste management site?
These and other questions have come to the fore as early Sunday morning fire exposed the chinks in the MMC fire-fighting mechanism set up at Sonsodo.
Before disposing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Citizens for Sonsodo through its secretary Roque Mascarenhas, the High Court had insisted on the Margao Municipal Council to put in place a fire-fighting mechanism, including fire hydrants and water supply at Sonsodo to tackle emergencies.
For, a massive fire had in the past destroyed electrical equipment, besides baling machines at the site, causing loss of property worth lakhs of rupees.
A MMC official told The Goan that the civic body has put the fire-fighting mechanism in place at Sonsodo. He, however, hastened to add that the water pumping operations from the Sonsodo borewell is down and out due to damage to the electrical fitting on account of the ongoing sewerage laying work.
