TEAM HERALD
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MARGAO: Residents of Cuncolim on Saturday served a month’s deadline on various government agencies to crack a whip against the polluting industries in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate or face action.
At a public meeting convened by the Cuncolim Municipal Council, which was attended by representatives of Goa State Pollution Control Board, IDC, Inspector of Factories and Boilers and Labour Department, the speakers called for action against the erring units before the villagers launch a sustained agitation against pollution.
GSPCB officials came under sustained questioning by the residents, who were angry at the delay in carting away the hazardous waste from the estate, the status of Nicomet unit, besides the functioning of the steel and fish processing units.
Oscar Martins questioned the government for permitting units generating hazardous waste when the Dharbandora land fill site was awaiting completion till date. Tarajan Desai and others expressed their unhappiness over the action initiated by the authorities against pollution.
The residents demanded that the GSCPB install air control monitoring systems in the industrial estate to check air and dust pollution. The IDC field officer John Diniz came under fire from the citizens when he said that he was not an authority to comment on certain questions, with the citizens demanding the presence of IDC Managing Director at the next meeting.
After the meeting, CMC Chairperson Devendra Desai informed newsmen that the civic body would convene another meeting next month with the official concerned to review the follow up action taken by the departments. “We have told the agencies very clearly that people would take to the streets if they fail to crack a whip against pollution. The people have been fighting against pollution since the last 4-5 years, but there’s no solution to the problem,” he added.
GSPCB official S Joglekar said the Board has directed Axis to cover up the hazardous dump before the onset of monsoons. He said a Bangalore-based agency will conduct inspection, study and submit a report on the status of Nicomet unit in the wake of water contamination reported a month ago.
As far as steel units are concerned, Joglekar said the Board has inspected nine out of 11 units and action as per law will be initiated against the erring units. He said the Board would take cognizance of complaints that food processing units are not using effluent treatment plants, promising to make ETPs mandatory for the units to operate.
