Team Herald
PANJIM: Even as the Margao town grapples with the garbage issue and Sonsoddo, the capital city of Panjim is also facing its share of problems when it comes to garbage collection, despite having a segregated waste collection system in place.
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has dedicated staff, which claims to undertake garbage collection on a daily basis. Monday and Thursday are dedicated for dry waste collection, they add.
However, on Friday most of the city locations had garbage strewn during the early hours of the day. The city’s preparedness in dealing with the monsoon was exposed throughout CCP’s jurisdiction. The worst affected was the municipal market and the adjacent fish market. Clogged and overflowing drains, along with flies and stench added to the woes of the public and vendors. Customers complained that the stench was unbearable and in the absence of any alternative provision, they were forced to shop in the designated area.
CCP sources informed that three trucks of the municipality have broken down and therefore the garbage collection has slowed down.
Acknowledging the problem, CCP Mayor Uday Madkaikar, said that to fix the problem, an emergency meeting with the staff was convened on Friday morning. He added that at the meeting, instructions were issued to take remedial measures.
He said, “After the first spell of rains, as usual the drains get clogged as there is a lot of plastic and other dry waste that is thrown around. Areas around the market had to be desilted again and the waste was put along the roads.
Uday further acknowledged that on any given day, a couple of vehicles break down. “On a daily basis there will be two to three trucks, which are broken down. This hampers the daily collection of waste. Therefore, in today’s meeting, we have decided that the vehicle manufacturing companies will be responsible for its maintenance, “he added.
When pointed out that it still doesn’t solve the problem, he said, “I have realised that the garbage collection, especially in the market happens only in the afternoon. This is for the convenience of traffic, which is a 24-hour-cycle. This then leads to stench and dirt everywhere. Therefore, we have now decided to collect the garbage in the market, twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon,” the mayor added.
