Cops, civic body feign ignorance on origin

TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Who is responsible for the dumping of electric waste in the Veroda area of the Cuncolim Municipal Council?
This question has come to the fore a week after the Cuncolim police seized a truck while loading the waste into the vehicle. But, neither the police nor the Cuncolim Municipality have come out officially over the origin of the waste and the contractor responsible for dumping the waste in the Municipal area.
When Herald contacted the Cuncolim police to throw light on the origin of the waste with reports doing the rounds that it has come from a panchayat area, the men-in-uniform said the question is still under investigation. The police pointed out that the electric waste laden vehicle was still lying at the police station as on then, adding that the question on the origin of the waste would come up when the owner seeks possession of the vehicle.
What’s interesting to note is that the Cuncolim Municipal Council was found dragging its feet on the matter when the civic body ought to have demanded action against the miscreants responsible for transporting the waste in its jurisdiction. While it was the local activists who alerted the Cuncolim police when the vehicle was trying to lift away the waste, the Cuncolim civic body’s letter to the Cuncolim police was despatched days later after the police seized the vehicle.
It is learnt that Cuncolim Municipal chief officer Pravin Barad delayed in putting his signature on the letter and it was finally the CMC Chairperson Devendra Desai who dashed off the letter to the police last Friday.
When contacted, the CMC chairperson said that he would seek details from the Cuncolim police on the origin of the waste – whether it has come from a Panchayat area and why it was dumped in the Municipal area.
Cuncolim civic chief said that he would seek details from the police on the origin of the waste and why it was dumped in the municipal area