Vehicle with meat waste seized amid disposal concerns

The meat waste floating in the stormwater nulllah. (Right) The pick-up van seized by the police.

MARGAO
Even as the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has started cracking the whip against commercial establishments operating sans consent to operate, there seems to be no let-up in the disposal of meat waste in the drains and nullahs in the commercial capital.

The Ring Road area at Old Market witnessed an uproar on Monday evening after residents intercepted a pick-up van carrying chicken waste. Locals suspected that the chicken waste was being transported to the site for disposal in the stormwater nullah or along the Ring Road.

Locals were further shocked and surprised when tonnes of meat waste were found floating in the stormwater nullah, indicating that the nullah had become a "perfect" meat waste disposal site for unscrupulous elements.

After being informed by the locals, the Fatorda police reached the spot and took the vehicle into custody.

What, however, has raised serious questions is the manner in which meat waste is sought to be disposed of by traders. In this instance, the pick-up van driver admitted that he had brought the chicken waste from the SGPDA market for disposal. He, however, maintained that the waste he had transported in the pick-up van had not been disposed of, even as he feigned ignorance over the meat waste found floating in the stormwater nullah.

That the pick-up van driver pointed out that he had brought the chicken waste for disposal at the Ring Road has raised questions about whether there is no meat waste disposal mechanism in place at the SGPDA market. The meat stalls at the SGPDA market came under the scanner of the GSPCB last year after the Pollution Control Board had issued notices for closure for running the stalls without the consent to operate.

Incidentally, though the GSPCB had later issued the stalls consent to operate, sources said the market complex is yet to be connected to the underground sewage line.