Workers gathering garbage from public dustbins or litter from the streets is a very common sight in Margao city. One can’t fail to notice men and women distinguishable in their special attire rolling a large bin with two or three sacks hanging from its sides moving around the city collecting trash.
After the wards in the municipalities across the state, it is now the turn of the panchayats to have a dedicated workforce engaged in door-to-door collection of garbage and segregating them into the the wet and dry variety.
For that matter, way back in November 2022, the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) had directed all the urban local bodies and village panchayats in Goa to ensure 100% door-to-door waste collection so that the public are not compelled to throw waste along the roadside.
But it is only now that most of the village panchayats have actively begun the process, bringing some sort of orderliness to the waste disposal imbroglio that has been assailing the state.
Yet, the spic-and-span visage envisaged seems more like a mirage as residents appear to be gaining an uncanny glee in dumping their household trash on roadside and in the open spaces around the cities and suburbs.
Despite claims by the GWMC that it has been undertaking the cleaning of littered national highways and other major roads in Goa through its contractor, roadside garbage dumps have begun making an ugly comeback in most of the areas in the state.
Reports in a section of the local press about the Western bypass road stretch between Benaulim and Navelim having literally become a waste dump yard, with unscrupulous elements disposing of mixed waste along the stretch, cannot be overlooked.
Moreover complaints to the effect that no authorities are intervening to put a stop to the menace makes the matter worse.
For that matter, the signboards put up all over the countryside prohibiting the public from dumping garbage hardly seems to be a deterrent against littering. In fact, the places where these notices have been put up have virtually turned into waste grounds with huge heaps of rubbish piling up with every passing day.
The numerous Swacch Bharat Abhiyan campaigns of cleanliness carried out by different organizations on various occasions have only served the cause of these associations without bringing about an iota of change in the attitude of people towards garbage disposal.
While the success story of the woman-led waste management model in North Goa’s Saligao which prides in turning trash to treasure should be seen as a sliver of hope for a state grappling with waste management issues, on the other hand the Sonsodo mess returns to haunt the Margao city fathers and the administration time and again.
The intervention and close monitoring of the Sonsodo ‘affairs’ by the High Court since 2022 has presumably led to a turnaround at the neglected waste dump.
But why are people, the general public or men in authority, so averse to disposing waste in a sensible and practical way!
The knowledge that it will eventually turn into a gargantuan problem notwithstanding, we have not been able to curb our instincts to produce unnecessary waste “ and ultimately create a situation where the disposal of the waste defies all solutions.
It is argued that laziness and carelessness have bred a culture of habitual littering. The belief held by people that their individual actions will not harm society as a whole is that underlying factor which is the root cause of all the problems.
Everyone wants to absolve themselves of the obligation of cleaning up their mess. They are of the opinion that there are others who will clean up after them.
The lack of responsibility to look after public places is an accusation of inappropriateness people would always like to escape from by attributing it to the sloppiness of everybody else but themselves.
A feeling fostered that anything with the tag ‘public’ attached to it brings the whole issue under the gambit of the government has conveniently allowed people to get away with such ‘atrocities’.
For instance, it is so common to have residents blaming the lack of enough public trash cans for the widespread littering in the streets. Goes to show that proper disposal of waste has never been given due consideration!
Yet, how meticulous have people been in keeping their immediate vicinity free of litter!
It is interesting to note that when we employ the term ‘litter’ it has come to mean waste products that have been discarded incorrectly and without consent at an unsuitable location.
With the massive urbanization and the high increase in population, waste disposal is becoming a challenge in the cities. Tourism too has come with its own share of problems for the state.
The household waste has become another serious cause of concern.
While domestic waste disposal should have constituted the first step towards attempts made to perfect the problem, we overlook this minor glitch to concentrate on the more serious issue which is however of our own making. We have floundered at the very first step!
It is quite ironic that we sit in judgement over the inappropriate civic sense of others while we ourselves are conspicuous by our blatant disregard for our surroundings!
But is a garbage-free ambience all that difficult to achieve for Goa!
Year-after-year the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh tops the list of the cleanest cities in India.
It has reportedly been able to maintain its position as the cleanest city due to its well-organized garbage collection, installation of bio-methanation plants, garbage transfer stations, car dustbins, efficient road cleaning service, maintenance of community toilets, and system of punishments and rewards.
With a little bit of political will spruced with the right mix of ‘public will’ can the vision of a pristine Goa elude the state for long! But for that we first need to see discernible changes in our attitude towards waste disposal!
