MARGAO: While the Collector and his staff started their day early on Thursday to take the cleanliness pledge and clean Margao KTC Bus Terminus, the Margao Municipality has a long way to go in cleaning up the town, starting with the areas in front of the Municipality.
Inside the Municipality garden, just opposite to the Municipal building, the large area is covered with metal scrap items, new but discarded dustbins and tanks, horticulture carts, four discarded hand cards, streetlight poles, metal hoardings, a chimney, etc.
A little ahead, next to the old Collector’s office, a pile of plastic and Styrofoam garbage has accumulated. Shopkeepers in the surrounding area say they do not know who is throwing this garbage.
At the old Margao bus stand, tobacco, gutka and paan is sold in two kiosks next to the front gate of Fatima Convent. There were two handcart vendors selling fruits using plastic bags less than 40 micros. When questioned they admitted that they are not allowed to use the plastics bags, while desperately trying to hide it from being photographed.
Herald visited the sanitation office of the Municipality and asked them about the garbage inside the Municipal Garden. They said that there is a contractor in-charge of it. “Tem amkam lagna (It doesn’t come under our jurisdiction)”, said a staff member from the Sanitary Section of the MMC. Another staff member said that they “can’t keep watch on every vendor but people should also refuse to use plastic bags when it is given to them.”
