Garbage is turning out to be a perennial problem in Panjim city. The disposal system has always been under a strain given that the garbage disposal plants slated to come up – whether the treatment plant at Bainguinim or the sorting plant opposite the KTC bus stand – have been facing opposition.
The existing plant at Patto emanates such stink that it perhaps hardens the resolve of the people against the plants in the area where treatment plants are slated to come up.
The flash strike, orchestrated by a union leader, fresh from what he perceives is a victory in the security guards issue, has exposed the lacunae in the CCP’s garbage management plan. The civic body was left with no second line of defence in this, perhaps most essential of its services. This small hiccup in the garbage collection system of Panjim, threw up a nightmare of problem that led to the CCP commissioner drive a garbage truck.
The corporation, taken by surprise by the flash strike, is still scrambling to find its footing and after more than five days the city is just about returning to normal. This is a wakeup call for the CCP to ensure that the garbage collection services, including garbage plants, are up and working as soon as possible, and that a proper backup system is ready.
The corporation also has a problem where a large amount of the garbage it collects is not segregated. This basically means that it all goes into the landfill instead of being recycled, filling up the landfills in the State, which are otherwise meant only for non-recyclable waste.
Panjim generates about 50 tonnes of garbage daily. Besides the residential garbage collection, there is the commercial garbage from hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments within the jurisdiction of the CCP. Added to this is the biomedical waste that is collected from hospitals and clinics and transported to the Goa Medical College and Hospital for disposal.
The Bainguinim waste treatment plant is yet to get started, as funding for it has turned into an issue with the Central government not agreeing to its funding as it was a project cleared during the interim period before the last general elections. However, work on the compound wall as well as other ancillary work to prime the site for setting up of the facility is going on, CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said.
Current imbroglio
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has sacked around 330 of its striking daily workers, and is collecting garbage using workers from Bainguinim landfill site, drivers from the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) and temporary workers. It has also resolved to tender out the garbage collection in the city by dividing the work in eight separate compartments or packages. The CCP has also decided to hire over 125 labourers for a period of one month which will be extendable by another month till the tendering process is complete. The striking CCP workers have not been allowed to use Azad Maidan for their protest and police are keeping a watch for any intimidatory tactics.
