CANACONA: Members of Canacona Vision and Mission (CM and V) group, led by its chairman Janardhan Bhandari, accompanied by Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) officials visited the operation of alleged illegal scrapyards in Canacona municipal area.
When asked by the GSPCB officials to produce the permissions from various authorities to run scrapyard business, the owners of the five scrapyards at Char rasta, Bhareli wada, Delem, Sheller and Agonda failed to produce any documents.
Newton Carvalho who is a resident of Char rasta complained to the GSPCB officials that there is a possibility of outbreak of vector-borne diseases, as water gets stagnated in the containers in the scrap dump, which becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
He also vociferously complained about the air pollution, due to burning of copper wires to extract copper at the scrap yard beside his house.
A member of the group Shubam Komarpant attributed the number of robberies in Canacona taluka due to the scrapyard business and stressed the need to close these yards, as they release toxic chemicals that pollute the environment.
When this correspondent contacted GSPCB officials, who visited the alleged illegal scrapyards, they said a detailed report would be submitted for action.
Later, a memorandum highlighting the operations of illegal scrapyards and non-action by the local administration was forwarded to the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and concerned government departments by the CV and M.
