THE GOAN NETWORK
MAPUSA
With 60 to 80 tonnes of waste being treated on a daily basis, it has been smooth sailing for the state-of-art solid waste treatment plant at the Saligao-Calangute plateau for the moment.
The only hitch, if any, was the unsegregated garbage brought to the plant, which slowed down the process and prevented the consultants to go full throttle.
The indifference shown by some panchayats to collect and transport garbage to the site has also been a concern.
“Everything is working fine at the plant. For the moment, we are treating 60 to 80 tonnes waste on a given day, with our boys working on two shifts. Very soon we will touch 100 tonnes capacity,” said Saket Dhandorya, Director of Hindustan Waste Treatment Pvt Ltd, who is in charge of the plant.
He said there was adequate garbage flow to the plant, but all that came in was mix waste.
“No doubt our plant has been designed to treat mix waste, but segregated garbage would be of immense help, as it will speed up the process and we can run the plant at full capacity,” he said.
He further disclosed that mix garbage that was brought included bottles and dead animals too.
“Last week, we found a dead calf in one of the garbage piles,” the director exclaimed.
For the moment, only a handful of panchayats from the coastal villages of Calangute, Candolim and Parra have been collecting and transporting waste to the plant.
Few other panchayats like that of Guirim, Sangolda, Saligao etc have been sending waste in small quantities.
“The new waste treatment plant has been working perfectly from day one. What I am disappointed about is the lack of enthusiasm shown by some panchayats to bring their waste to the plant,” said Calangute MLA Micheal Lobo and one of the key persons who advocated for setting up of the plant.
He said most panchayats lacked the wherewithal to collect and transport garbage from their area.
“Some panchayats send their garbage in small rickshaws to the waste treatment plant. The panchayats from Siolim constituency are not serious to send their garbage to the plant,” he lamented.
“The government has built a state-of-art waste treatment plant and will spend crores on maintaining it. It appears politicians are not serious when it comes to garbage,” Lobo said.
The plant has been built at a cost of Rs 146 crore by a private entity even, as government will spend almost Rs 11crore per year for its maintenance.
The Hindustan Waste Treatment Private Ltd will operate the plant for 10 years and after that, it will be handed over to the government.
