TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: Canacona Municipal Council’s (CMC) garbage treatment plant at Dumane was destroyed in a fire on Sunday, causing a loss of about Rs 60 lakh to the council.
According to a senior fire and emergency services officer, their personnel received a call at about 11.12 am stating that fire had engulfed the Dumane garbage treatment plant (DGTP). When the fire team reached the site the entire machinery of the garbage treatment plant (GTP) had been burnt.
“The entire GTP and the electrical fittings were already destroyed. We used two water tankers only to douse the fire that had engulfed the garbage next to the GTP,” said a fire official.
The official said the cause of fire could either be an electrical fault or from the burnt garbage dump. The police are investigating.
“Even though the exact loss could not be ascertained as CMC has not provided figures, the loss could be anything above Rs 60 lakh,” the fire and emergency services source said. The shed and recently obtained bailing machine were saved.
When contacted, CMC Chairperson Simon Rebello alleged that it was an act of sabotage by some persons and a formal police complaint will be lodged on Monday through the chief officer.
“We recently issued necessary orders to streamline the nearlu in-a-mess ‘garbage management’ and even obtained a baling machine at GTP, besides earmarking workmen.”
“Heaps of garbage were segregated as the GTP was non-functional due to a fault and it was supposed to be repaired in the next few days. The fire sabotage has brought all our efforts to square one. We will request police to properly investigate the cause of fire and the persons responsible,” Rebello said.
This is not the first time that the plant has caught fire. Last year, FE&S were called twice to manage burning garbage with many pointing accusing fingers at civic workers for attempting to burn garbage. Many residents had also feared that such a practice by civic staff could endanger the costly GTP.
As the approach road to the GTP is cut-off with a gate providing entry only to civic staff, nearby residents and motorists passing across the Agonda-Canacona road often pointed out to billowing smoke and fire from the GTP, that meant that garbage was being continuously disposed off in fire.
The 5-M tonne garbage treatment plant at Dumane costing Rs 1 crore (including its shed, compound, etc) was inaugurated by Canacona legislator and Minister for Sports, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Tribal Welfare Ramesh Tawadkar in May 2012.
