the goan I network
MARGAO
Strange it may seem, but true that the Margao Municipal solid waste management is not handled by the Municipal sanitary section, but the technical section, comprising of civil engineers, right from the Municipal engineer to the junior engineers.
That’s not all. Most of the basic sanitation duties, which are normally discharged by the sanitary inspectors, are carried out by officials other than sanitary inspectors, leaving the MMC sanitary inspection with hardly any major functions, except attending to complaints relating to overflowing soak pits and septic tanks.
The MMC sanitary section has been manned by two sanitary inspectors, the senior amongst the duo, Viraj Arabekar was shunted to Sonsodo exactly a year ago, but without any major function. The sanitary section does not look after solid waste management and neither the section is allowed to inspect hotels and establishments from the hygiene and sanitation point of view. It isn’t clear whether the MMC had in recent times inspected the hotels and business establishments, especially the eateries for hygiene and sanitation.
On the other hand, the MMC’s solid waste management is being handled by a junior engineer under the supervision of the Municipal engineer, of the rank of Executive Engineer. When the Sonsodo dump was engulfed by the week-long fire from May 25, almost the entire technical section of the MMC headed by the Municipal engineer Manor Arsekar had camped at the dump, bringing all technical matters, including inspections to a grinding halt.
That the MMC solid waste management is handled by the civil engineers than by officials having expertise in waste management has only left the sanitary cell defunct. Even the basic function of handling the ABC programme and stray dogs issue is now being handled by the civil engineers.
