Local residents of Zorint-Sancoale while interacting with police at the Verna Police station late Wednesday night. Captured by : Vikram Nayak
VASCO
Alert residents of Zorint-Sancoale on Wednesday midnight caught red-handed a septic tanker while discharging sewage in the gutters of the residential colony in the area.
The residents immediately alerted the panch member and also questioned the driver of the tanker. The driver refused any charges levelled against him and maintained that some unknown person may have opened the valve.
The residents later filed a complaint with the Verna Police and also forced the contractor to drive his vehicle to the Verna police station.
Speaking to reporters, a local resident, Naresh Agarwal, said residents have been facing hardships because many contractors would dump sewage and even garbage in the area late in the night.
"We cannot stay here because the area is stinking with garbage and sewage in the area. We have noticed that some contractors arrive late at night and dump garbage in the area. We have also seen that sewage is being discharged in the drainage systems through tankers," said Agarwal.
"We therefore decided to stay vigilant and catch the persons red-handed when we saw the tanker parked in the area. When questioned, the driver initially said the tanker is empty and they would take away the tanker in the morning and we noticed that the tanker began movement late at night and they were discharging sewage. We then called the police and they have taken photographs but the tanker owner was refusing to come to the police station. The owner also tried to dump mud on the wet area to hide his crime," said Agarwal.
Agarwal said sewage, garbage and even construction debris was being dumped near the Mahadev Temple in the area at night.
Another resident said police had been swift in acting on their complaint.
"Our case has been registered and they also came and carried out a site inspection while assuring us of strict action. We request the police to carry out regular patrolling because many trucks and vehicles loaded with garbage, etc. are being parked here. Besides a police complaint, we will also take up this issue with the panchayat to demand strict action," said the resident.
