Every year Sonsoddo burns, emitting poisonous gases. Goa has administrators at all levels from the Governor, CM, Municipalities, Collectors, IAS Officers, Police/Fire Services, NIO and Goa University.
This year too, Sonsoddo was on fire for eight days spewing poison into the lungs of local inhabitants. What was the action response?
This is a National Disaster! We must call it a National Disaster! – shouted one.
One authority said that those residents near Sonsoddo, who wish, can shift to the Fatorda Stadium. No mention of what will be provided to them if they so wished: water, food, etc. Were they supposed to carry all their cooking apparatus, etc? Note, people who don’t wear helmets are at risk, so must be punished. Here, the residents are not at risk? If a Tsunami comes, the Govt. will be like: all those who like to be re-located during this tsunami can shift to the stadium, thank you!
The Dy CM said this must be resolved by the MMC. He tried to defuse the situation and in the same breath blamed the residents for building houses near the dump! The MMC Chairperson lamented that the Opposition Congress was targeting the MMC instead of helping, admitting they have no clue on what to do. They got a Mumbai consultant to dump an enzyme, which is basically bacteria, which would consume the inflammable gas forming garbage! No bacteria can survive 800C – which is what the fire produced. Two days lost here. Previous fires were put off by mud. This method was resorted to after a week. AAP was sending letters to all concerned to look into the same.
The Fire Services went about informing all that the fire would take days to be contained. They admitted they have no immediate solution. They wasted tonnes of precious water, what with the water levels in all dams being low. Did the water come from open wells? Did the Govt pay cess on the same?
The Fomento, in charge of treating the garbage were silent. The CM, Governor, Collectors were all silent.
Finally the fire is put off and the Dy CM now speaks out that long-term solution must be found. In the next 50 years? In the meantime all the above are praying that the rains come and no fire starts before that. The residents in Sonsoddo have gone back to sleep, exhausted. AAP and Congress are also silent and have no clue.
This is how the Govt is functioning during a disaster-like headless chickens. The people know they will now sleep till next year: because they are unable to govern or administrate. The full functioning revolves around: compromise, promise, personal gains, washing hands off and put the blame on the opposition and finally the local Goan. In all this the ‘Business people involved are never even questioned forget being blamed.
This is the functioning of elected, appointed and ‘paid for employment’ administrators!
This is scary! Scream 2 is a picnic! All ills that plague Goa is put at the door step of the local Goan!
And after all this, the responsibility is pinned on the residents near Sonsoddo: nobody else is responsible.
