The date has come and gone, and though it was celebrated as the 54th anniversary of Goa’s Liberation from Portuguese rule, the State has not yet been liberated from the sights of festering garbage dumps or the acrid smell of rotting rubbish.
Whether it is on the streets of Panjim, Margao, Mapusa, Ponda or Vasco, or the National Highways 17 and 4A, or on the village streets and empty fields, there is garbage strewn just about everywhere. Goa is just not garbage free and is also unlikely to rid itself of this malaise anytime soon. This is simply because neither the political establishment nor the bureaucracy, have made any efforts whatsoever to clear the garbage from the streets and the countryside of Goa.
Whatever little is being done to clear Goa of this garbage menace is of a cosmetic nature and hence does not last for long. Take Panjim for instance. Last month, when the city was getting ready for the International Film Festival of India, the Dayanand Bandodkar Marg was spruced up and given a facelift. The garbage was swept away from this particular street, but the same was not done in the streets parallel to or perpendicular to the DB Marg. It was as if these streets just did not exist for the CCP and the other authorities. Garbage dumps on some corners of the internal streets of Panjim exist and keep growing as the authorities turn a blind eye to the growing rubbish dumps. The problem is peculiarly prevalent in Panjim as the State capital is bin free and garbage is collected door-to-door. As a result there is no daily collection of garbage from the streets of Panjim and any accumulated garbage immediately becomes a growing, foul-smelling dump.
It is not just Panjim that suffers from the problem of garbage. Margao is no better and the long-continuing imbroglio over the Sonsoddo garbage dump does not give any confidence that it will be resolved soon. The phenomenon of dumping garbage on the roadside exists almost across the State.
Just last week, vigilant villagers of Benaulim stopped two women from dumping bags of garbage in the fields of Benaulim. This is not the first time that this has happened in Benaulim. They are able to stop people from dumping garbage only because they are keeping an eye on people coming to the village to dump garbage. In the past week, Merces villagers stopped a truck from dumping garbage in their fields. The truck was actually taking garbage from Panjim and dumping in Merces on CCP orders. The CCP Commissioner had to actually rush to the spot and promise to clear the garbage dump before the Merces villagers would calm down.
Successive governments have failed to find a solution to the growing garbage dumps of Goa. It is only now, just last week, that the government has decided to form a Solid Waste Management Corporation that will deal with all issues arising out of solid waste and formulate plans and proposals to make the State garbage free. This decision came on the eve of Parrikar’s deadline to rid Goa of its garbage. It could so easily have been done earlier. But, setting up a Corporation is not enough, it is only a first step. The body should also have professionals who understand garbage management and who will be able to put together a plan to tackle the situation, free from political interference. Placing a MLA as chairperson of the board, as is the practice with all corporations, will not change the way garbage is being tackled in the State. Garbage management is serious business and needs to dealt with by professionals and not bumbling bureaucrats and politicians.
