the goan I network
MARGAO
It was 3.30 pm on Thursday. Two women, believed to be Municipal workers, were on a spree, setting afire waste after sweeping the road leading to the BPS Club near Ana Fonte garden.
As the area was filled with smoke billowing from the small road side waste dump, the scenario only brought to the fore once again the rampant burning of waste by municipal workers as well as general citizens in gross violation of the National Green Tribunal’s order.
Officials in the know say that Municipal workers setting waste afire is not uncommon in the commercial capital for want of proper guidance and sensitising by the Municipal officials. In fact, waste burning along the roadsides is a common phenomenon in the city, especially early mornings and afternoons when Municipal workers fan out to the city for road sweeping.
Margao Municipal officials in private admit that civic workers set afire waste, especially tree leaves and paper, while conceding that the field workers needs to be sensitised to ensure that waste is not burnt in violation of the rules.
Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes said he would look into the matter, while admitting that he has received information that Municipal workers tend to set the waste on fire despite instructions issued by the civic body.
He, however, promised that the administration will conduct a sensitisation programme for the Municipal workers, including the sweepers, to desist from burning the waste.
Information revealed that waste burning isn’t new in the city, with citizens and workers of agencies restoring to burning waste instead of lifting them to the nearest bins. Take the case of the government quarters maintained by the PWD. Workers engaged by the PWD flout the rules with impunity by resorting to waste burning on a daily basis, with neither the engineers nor the supervisors reigning on the erring workers.
That Fatorda police recently rushed to the Electricity office at Pajifond to warn the personnel not to burn plastic and rubber waste indicates that waste burning is a common phenomenon. However, waste burning has not stopped at the department office, with unscrupulous personnel disposing off their waste by burning.
