TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE: The Goa Su-Raj Party’s (GSRP) proposed cleanliness drive at Candolim on Sunday has drawn sharp criticism from locals and leaders of in and around Candolim.
While former MLA Agnelo Fernandes has termed it as ‘political gimmick,’ Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has said it would serve no purpose in the absence of concrete measures.
Defending the cleanliness drive at Candolim Football Ground on Sunday, GSRP Secretary and President (Youth Wing) Savio Rodrigues stated that the cleanliness drive will create awareness and would force the government to be more serious over the garbage issue.
“We chose Calangute because it is a tourism hub. Having a garbage collection drive is, however, not enough, but a system should be in place. I am told that a contractor has been appointed for Candolim, but there is no garbage collection being done by the contractor. We will go ahead with our drive at Candolim football ground and later dump the collected garbage in front of Calangute MLA’s office at Calangute to create awareness that garbage should not be dumped anywhere,” said Rodrigues.
Asked if the dumping of garbage in front of the Calangute MLA’s office would solve the issue, Rodrigues replied, “By dumping the collected garbage in front of the Calangute MLA’s office at Calangute, we will create an awareness that garbage should not be allowed to be dumped anywhere. The State government should be serious about the issue and should come out with strict laws to curb the garbage dumping menace.”
Residents, however, questioned the objectives of the GSRP in undertaking the cleanliness drive.
“Garbage is collected from our homes on a daily basis, while huge bins for wet and dry garbage are kept for every five houses in parts of Candolim village. So, why is there a need for this cleanliness drive in Candolim? asked George Fernandes.
When contacted, Lobo stated that collecting and dumping the garbage in front of his office at Calangute was not the solution to the serious garbage issue.
“We need to have a garbage treatment plant in place as soon as possible so that the garbage issue can be tackled. I have been serious about the garbage issue and have already acquired a huge plot of land admeasuring around 1.15 lakh sq mtrs to set up a garbage treatment plant at the Saligao/Calangute plateau. If they (GSRP) still insist on dumping the garbage in front of my office at Calangute, I will be personally present at my office premises,” said Lobo.
Former MLA Agnelo Fernandes described the GSRP initiative as a “political gimmick” and insisted that the Candolim Panchayat was among the first panchayats to undertake door-to-door garbage collection.
“This door-to-door garbage collection has been going on till today. We have been collecting and dumping the garbage at our dumping site which has been time and again inspected by the Goa Pollution Control Board officials. The cleanliness drive by Goa Su-Raj Party is nothing but a political gimmick,” he said.
