The State of Goa paid tributes to the Father of the Nations Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birth anniversary on October 2. We must seek lessons from his life, learn from the values and principles that he stood for. Cleanliness is one of the virtues he propagated throughout his life.
It is disgusting to see thermocol packing waste of the refrigerators, washing machines , televisions and plastic waste along with garbage been dumped just behind the Old South Goa Collector’s building in Margao. This thermocol is regularly been dumped by the shopkeepers in the vicinity, who could be the real culprits.
A Goan couple from Australia was visiting Goa for a short holiday and while climbing the steps of a restaurant, they were shocked to see this thermocol and garbage thrown haphazardly by the side of the Collector’s building.
They asked me if a Municipal Corporation is functioning in Margao, as this is a grave danger to Mother Earth and to the health of the citizens of Margao. The Margao Municipal Council office is just 200 metres away from the Old Collector’s building. According to the World Resources Report of 1997, it attributed the rise of dengue hemorrhagic fever among other factors to the indiscriminate use of plastic bags. In Singapore anyone who chucks a plastic bag or a carton on the street is liable to pay a stiff fine. If littering fine pinches the pockets, citizens are likely to turn civic conscious overnight.
One is shocked to see Old Municipal at Old Market, Margao which is in ruins, where people are seen urinating in the open space behind, which has filthy garbage accumulated for days and is emitting foul smell.
A couple of months back, a heritage festival was held from Margao KTC to Borda Ward, where heritage houses were identified along with the Old Margao Municipal Administrative building. If this is a heritage site, is there any respect paid by the organisers at least to maintain cleanliness or was it for publicity to gain political mileage.
Every day, one can see foreign and local moving at the old market area because of the heritage houses around and a church which was built in 1567. The Margao Municipal Council chairperson should take a look at the heritage sites identified under the jurisdiction and take the matter serious and put a stop to such nuisance created by the people.
