GMC incinerator breaks down; Ponda SDH turns into COVID waste dump

Team Herald 

PONDA: The Centre has clearly issued guidelines to deal with coronavirus-related biomedical waste, but the Ponda Sub District Hospital has turned into a dumpsite for storing bags filled with PPEs, masks, syringes and other COVID-related garbage which can cause the infection to spread further. 

The contractor entrusted with the job of lifting the garbage informed that the bags have been stored in the hospital premises as incinerator at the Goa Medical College at Bambolim broke down. In absence of incineration, the only option was to store the waste in the hospital premises.

Similar situation prevails at other COVID Care Centres including Shiroda, NIT, GEC and the IIT Goa campus on account of the incinerator breakdown at GMC. 

Sub-District Hospital sources informed that it’s been nearly 10 days the COVID-related garbage is lying unattended. The COVID designated Ponda Sub-District Hospital generates around 150 garbage bags daily. The Sub District Hospital has outsourced the garbage collection and disposal to a contractor named Sahil. 

Sources confirmed that the waste has not been picked by the contractor.

The contractor informed that the incinerator at GMC broke down and is being repaired.

Raising concerns over the prevailing situation, the patients and their relatives said, “This garbage may prove hazardous to patients, their relatives and others visiting the Sub District Hospital and the hospital staff as well. We demand that the government repair the incinerator at GMC on a war footing.”

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a doctor said similar situation prevails in other COVID Care Centres in Shiroda, NIT, GEC and the IIT Goa campus.

It is important to note that the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) recently installed an incinerator at its garbage treatment plant.  However, the incinerator is not yet fully operational as the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has not yet given NOC to make it functional and hence the COVID waste cannot be disposed at the PMC garbage disposal plant at Kerya, Khandepar. 

Pondaites have demanded that the garbage plant be made operational on an urgent basis to at least dispose the COVID-related garbage generated in Ponda.