MARGAO
With no let up to fires engulfing the Sonsodo waste treatment plant and the Margao Municipal Council having no immediate plan to cart away the accumulated waste, the fire services has recommended to the civic body to continuously spray water on the dump to keep the fire and smoke at bay.
Conveying a message loud and clear to the Margao Municipality that the fire brigade cannot be at the beck and call of the civic body to extinguish the fire when they have to attend to other urgent and emergency calls, the fire brigade has told the MMC to immediately repair the water pump and put the hose pipes in place to continuously spray water on the accumulated dump.
Newly-posed Margao Fire Officer, Gill De Souza on Thursday led the fire brigade to the Sonsodo plant after receiving an emergency call from the MMC to extinguish the fire. The Margao fire brigade used two tankers to bring the fire under control, but not before the Fire Officer conveyed a clear message to the MMC staff to repair the pump and water the waste round the clock.
“I feel that the best way to keep the fire at bay at the Sonsodo waste treatment plant is by spraying water over the accumulated waste. Methane gas has formed underneath the dump and the fire will keep recurring inside the plant. As a preventive measure, I have suggested to the MMC to repair the pump and put other logistics in place to take care of the fire,” Gill said.
He added: “I have found that a water pump has been installed at the plant, but it is not functioning for the moment. All that the MMC has to do is to repair the pump to pump water into the overhead tank and continuously spray the water over the dump. This will help the fire services to attend to emergency calls in other areas.”
The Margao Fire Officer, however, said what he has recommended is just a temporary measure to keep the fire at bay, saying a permanent solution will come only when the accumulated waste is carted out of the plant.
MMC officials pointed out that the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, which was set up by Fomento Green is equipped with an overhead water tank, besides other logistics such as hose pipes. “What the MMC has to do now is to repair the items and put them in work conditions, including the hose pipe, which might have been damaged by rodents,” the officer added.
In fact, the MMC sanitation section had recommended repair of the items required for the spraying of the water on the dump, but in vain. “Going by the ground reality, work of tendering and issue of work order to cart away the accumulated waste stacked inside may take some time and may become a reality only after the election code of conduct comes into force by year-end or early January,” an official added.
Stray dogs find their way into plant in search of food
MARGAO: One might have come across strays feasting on waste dumped at the dark spots and at waste disposal sites.
Welcome to the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, where stray dogs have found its way into the plant in search of food.
With open waste dumping banned at Sonsodo and the Margao Municipal trucks unloading tonnes of wet waste inside the plant, stray dogs have made their presence inside the plant to feast on the daily waste.
The presence of stray dogs inside the waste treatment plant, which has witnessed recurring fires and smokes, came to light when Margao fire officials descended at the plant after receiving a call from the MMC that the plant is engulfed by fire. “The fire personnel could see stray dogs scanning the waste in search of food even as the plant was under fire on Thursday,” remarked an official.
