MARGAO: A tense situation prevailed at the Sonsoddo garbage dumping site after at least five two-wheeler riders skidded after wet waste from the parked trucks started flowing on the road on Tuesday night.
After incidents of people being injured due to flowing of wet waste on the road spread like wild fire, irate local residents from Curtorim and Raia rushed to the spot and demanded action against the Margao Municipal Council authorities for “criminal negligence”.
Expressing his annoyance, Roque Mascarenhas, who has filed a petition in the High Court, said, “It is only due to intervention of the High Court that some measures have been taken at Sonsoddo. But despite the government spending crores of rupees, this the result we are getting.”
Roque Mascarenhas added, “There is no official of Margao Municipal Council present at the site. Nobody is speaking of the cause, nor the situation. Where has the public money gone? We need an answer from the government.”
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who also was present at the scene, claimed that he immediately called the Fire & Emergency Services and got them to rush a fire tender to the site and hose wash the road and clear the waste. He also instructed that the trucks which had been parked on a slope inside the yard be moved to a different location. “The Margao municipality failed to respond to my calls. It is shocking even after being informed that five riders had fallen within 20 minutes, they did nothing. This is utter negligence from the civic body. I will take up this issue seriously with MMC,” Lourenco said.
Former Margao chairperson Savio Coutinho said he is unable to understand why the government hasn’t been able to find solution to resolve Sonsoddo garbage menace despite spending crores of rupees.
“Who will take the responsibility of those who have been injured in the accidents? An FIR should be registered against the MMC for negligence,” Xavier Fernandes, panch member of the Raia panchayat, told O Heraldo.
Don’t delay approval for constructing retaining wall at Sonsoddo: HC tells DMA
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday asked the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) not to delay the process of granting approval to the Margao Municipal Council to construct a retaining wall on the western boundary of the Sonsoddo garbage dumping site.
While hearing a PIL writ petition filed by the Citizens for Sonsoddo, the Margao Municipal Council counsel, Adv Sandesh Padiyar said that a request was been made on October 12, 2023, to the DMA to issue a work order to the contractor.
He said that the construction of the retaining wall on the western boundary was one of the recommendations made by the DMA to sort out a serious issue that had arisen at Sonsoddo. Adv Padiyar further informed the Court that work order is kept ready and the municipality is awaiting the DMA’s approval.
Adv Padiyar said that the bio-methanation plant at the SGPDA market will be made operational within next 15 days and that directions issued by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) are being complied with.
GSPCB counsel Adv Pavithran told the Court that the Board officials will inspect the site and apprise the Court the next date about compliance with the directions.
Meanwhile, Goa Waste Management Corporation managing director Levinson Martins filed a status report in the Court. The matter has now been posted on January 17, 2024.