Health issues come to fore; Mapusa Municipal Council dilly-dallying
GERARD DE SOUZA
gerard@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The continuous and persistent toxic fumes emanating from month-old fire at the badly maintained Assagao garbage dump, used by Mapusa Municipal Council, is now sparking an exodus of businessmen and residents from the area.
Business establishments and residents are slowly moving out since authorities have failed to tackle the festering problem and are dragging their feet on finding an alternative garbage disposal mechanism.
The fire has been burning at the dump for over a month now with municipal authorities or others failing to find any solution. The problem is so severe that several residents have now decided to move out of the area.
“I have been living here for over 14 years now and have decided to move out. Fortunately, for me I can move out of here and live elsewhere, but what about the others who have no option. This is too much,” Elizabeth who lives on the Siolim-Marna side of the hill told Herald.
She narrated similar plights faced by several others including foreigners who have been living in Goa for years but have now decided to either move to Ashvem or back to Europe.
Several other businesses including a nursing home have shut down due to dwindling patients after they faced persistent health issues due to the smoke in the area. As the photos depict clouds of smoke ~ enough to almost blot out the sun ~ have engulfed Ganeshpuri, Ektanagar and other surrounding areas of Mapusa and parts of Siolim-Marna.
In 2010, the Mapusa unit of the Shiv Sena led by Philip D’Souza had filed a complaint with the Goa State Pollution Control Board, which, after a site inspection had passed strictures against MMC asking it to get its act together in one month. That was 2010. Three years on, the situation is the same if not worse.
This is the third major blaze at garbage dump in the area after two previous incidents in October 2011 and January 2013. In both the incidents, the residents suffered due to the toxic fumes for months together.
It isn’t as if the MMC is blind to the problem.
Speaking to a section of the local media, the MMC had blamed external factors and the fact that the fire was ‘deep in the garbage’. However, more than a month after Sandip Falari the MMC chairperson made these statements, the fire continues to rage.
In October 2011, fire caused by the burning of industrial waste at the plateau forced residents of Mapusa and Siolim to inhale toxic fumes causing severe breathing problems for many.
In January 2013, Mapusa and Siolim residents were choked with smoke after garbage containing plastic, rubber and other waste dumped by MMC was set on fire emitting hazardous smoke for over three weeks.
