MARGAO
Chinchinim panchayat member Frank Viegas on Friday demanded that the government make it mandatory for the starred hotels and resorts to compulsorily set up MRF facility and wet waste handling sites inside the hotel premises to stop the hotel waste from finding its way to the villages.
He made the demand after the Chinchinim panchayat and the Health officials on Friday conducted an inspection of a garbage handling area and a piggery at Palmar Grand following complaints by residents that the area emits foul odour due to the activity.
Chinchinim Sarpanch Valentino Barretto and the Health officials told the person handling the hotel garbage to stop the activity in view of the complaints from the residents. A detailed inspection report is expected to be compiled by the inspecting team before further action under the rules in force will be initiated in the matter.
Ward member Frank Viegas, representing Palmar Grand pointed out that while the authorities make it mandatory for the panchayat bodies to set up MRF facilities to treat the village waste, the starred resorts and other hotels goes scot-free since the waste is being collected by contractors and disposed of in unhygienic conditions. “Some of the starred resorts resemble villages within a village and have adequate land at their disposal to handle the hotel waste. However, the waste is being handed over to the contractors, who collect and take the waste for piggery, causing nuisance and a health hazard to the villagers,” he said.
The residents had complained that the garbage brought by the person for the piggery was creating a nuisance and a health hazard. The owner, however, maintained that he is handling the waste and the piggery on his property, by releasing the wastewater in the septic tank, denying that the activity causes a nuisance to the locality.
