MAPUSA
It is the same problem every Ganesh Chaturthi – and once again, Mapusa’s garbage collection system appears to have been caught unprepared.
Door-to-door waste collection has been disrupted across several parts of Mapusa as a number of municipal sanitation workers have stayed away from work to return to their ancestral villages for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, leaving residents struggling with accumulated garbage.
The disruption is particularly evident in wards 1 to 10, where door-to-door collection is handled directly by the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC). In contrast, collection in wards 11 to 20, which has been outsourced, is reportedly continuing without any major disruption.
The situation has caused considerable inconvenience to residents, particularly those living in apartment complexes where waste cannot be left unattended for several days.
Former councillors have also flagged the issue, questioning the municipality’s preparedness for the annual festival-related exodus of sanitation workers.
“Garbage has not been collected in Ward 5 for the last five days. I complained to the Chief Officer, but there has been no relief so far,” said former councillor Shashank Narvekar.
Former councillor Franky Carvalho said there had been a disruption because several workers had remained absent for the festival.
Former councillor Komal D’Souza slammed the Mapusa Municipal Council for failing to ensure regular waste collection, while finding the manpower to remove Chaturthi greeting banners put up by political leaders.
“The municipality has no staff to collect waste from residents who pay taxes, but it has enough manpower to remove Chaturthi greeting banners of leaders, even late at night,” D’Souza said.
A senior civic official admitted that the municipality was facing a shortage of sanitation workers during the festive period.
“This happens during the Chaturthi festival. We had denied leave to at least six workers, but they still remained absent. This has affected door-to-door collection,” the official said.
The official, however, said the situation was expected to improve shortly, with additional manpower expected to return to duty.
“By Monday or Tuesday, the situation should improve,” he said.
The recurring disruption has also raised questions over the municipality’s contingency arrangements for waste collection during major festivals, particularly when a sizeable portion of its sanitation workforce travels out of the State.
