The Eastern Bypass, which partly comes under the jurisdiction of Davorlim panchayat and the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), is one of the busiest roads in Margao. The site has turned into an eyesore with garbage and other waste being accumulated all along the bypass thereby totally defeating the purpose of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Many tourists commute along the bypass to proceed to their respective destinations especially to Karwar, Mangalore and beyond.
Herald’s visit to the site revealed heaps of garbage, be it wet or dry, construction material, inert waste from hair cutting saloon, thermocol sheets etc. This in turn has resulted in the pollution of the ‘Layamati Spring’ and the agricultural land on roadsides.
For several years, the Davorlim Panchayat, who is the actual custodian of a part of the road, which is full of garbage, has been dilly-dallying on clearing the same. The road has turned into eyesore that even the then Director of Municipal Administration Elvis Gomes, who retired recently from service, had made a special mention of this road in his farewell speech in the MMC.
He had said, “Please look into the issue of the garbage along the Eastern Bypass, some say it is the panchayat’s responsibility while others say it is municipality. But we cannot continue pushing the issue around. We have to take the responsibility.”
MMC Chief Officer Yashwant Tawde informed Herald that the MMC has been clearing the garbage along the bypass as and when they receive complaints of nuisance. “The garbage is dumped along the boundary of the MMC and Davorlim Panchayat. But the fact is that we have been cleaning all the areas and the panchayat areas too,” Tawde said.
The Chief Officer also promised Herald of clearing the garbage by Tuesday evening.
“Recently, the Davorlim Panchayat had allegedly illegally issued a licence for a construction of a building on the other side of the Eastern Bypass, which the panchayat claims to be coming under the MMC boundary” complained Anand Sawant, a resident of Davorlim.
On Tuesday, nearly 25 women from a nearby area visited the Davorlim Panchayat and met the secretary over the complaints of garbage in the area along the bypass.
When questioned on the issue, Davorlim Zilla Parishad member Ulhas Tuenkar said, “The panchayat has to take responsibility of collecting the door-to-door garbage at source and should possess land for dumping and segregating the same. The Rumdamol Panchayat has done it, so can the Davorlim Panchayat,” Tuenkar added.
“The Davorlim Panchayat has to clear the garbage as it is giving a bad name to the area,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Davorlim Sarpanch Tulsidas Desai still promises to clear the garbage without providing any definite time frame.
Speaking to Herald, he said, “We will clear the garbage in some days and I have spoken to the MLA regarding this.
When questioned as to why he cannot follow the Rumdamol model of collecting garbage, he said, “They are collecting garbage and mixing it with mud.”
When asked why he the panchayat failed to find a proper land for disposing garbage, he claimed that the Collector is not giving permissions for the proposed land.
Sushant Naik, a resident and a commuter said, “The garbage issue is a stumbling block in India’s ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. After cleaning our home and garden, if we throw our garbage out in the open, then we are defeating the purpose of having ‘Swachh’ Bharat”. “This current garbage situation speaks volumes about failure on the part of the local bodies to handle and manage door-to-door garbage,” Sushant alleged.
