MARGAO
Absence of firefighting mechanism at Sonsodo has been an issue hanging fire over the years, exposing Margao civic body’s utter failure to make the waste management site fire-proof.
In fact, when Sonsodo has been prone to fires, as evident by the series of fire incidents reported in recent times, the Margao Municipal Council has been caught napping in putting a firefighting system in place. Not only residents inhabiting close to the Sonsodo waste dumping site, but villagers of neighbouring Curtorim and Raia had to face the brunt of fire and hazardous smoke for no fault of theirs.
The civic body’s lethargy and indifference may now hopefully be a thing of the past, thanks to High Court’s intervention. For, after the High Court bench comprising of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Valmiki Menezes told the civic body to unveil its road map on Sonsodo, the Margao Municipal Council has come out with an action plan to put the firefighting requirements in place.
The action plan on firefighting measures has found acceptance with the High Court, but not before the civic body was pulled up by the Court and a timeline was set how to go about executing the action plan.
While accepting MMC’s firefighting action plan, the High Court observed that the MMC will have to take immediate measures because in the past, there have been several incidents of fires raging at this site. “Such fires are extremely dangerous and the people from this region have suffered enough. The raging fires are a serious health hazard and therefore, the MMC should ensure that fire management arrangements are in place within one month as undertaken by them,” Justice Sonak and Justice Menezes observed.
That the court has set a one-month deadline and has made the Margao Municipal Assistant Engineer responsible for ensuring that the fire management arrangements are in place within a month at the site indicates the Court has taken serious cognisance of the civic body’s indifference in putting the firefighting mechanism in place.
The Margao fire brigade has been pleading with the civic body to repair and put to use the existing water tank, hose and also train the workers in firefighting operation to meet fire emergencies before the fire tenders could reach the site, but in vain.
In fact, promises by the civic body to rope in a private agency to help the Municipality to put the logistics in place have failed to materialise till date.
As per the action plan submitted to the High Court, Sonsodo will soon hopefully play host to fire extinguishers, besides fire hydrants at various locations around the existing waste management shed.
The action plan mooted at Sonsodo includes setting up of four fire extinguishers at various locations at the dumpsite.
The MMC has now mulled installation of six fire hydrants around the Sonsodo waste management shed. It has been proposed to lay a water supply pipeline around the shed with suitable size for quick water supply to the fire hydrants.
