Team Herald
PONDA: ‘Acche Din’ may finally be in sight for Ponda's main nullah, as the Water Resources Department (WRD), in collaboration with the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) and Ponda MLA and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, has taken the initiative to instal steel nets on seven culverts to prevent the dumping of garbage. The foundation stone for the project was laid.
The initiative follows O Heraldo’s report on World Water Day, March 23, which highlighted the severe pollution of Ponda’s lifeline. The report brought to light how the nullah had turned into a dumping ground and urged the installation of steel nets at culverts, a suggestion echoed by concerned locals.
In response to the report and public outcry, the PMC took swift action last week by issuing notices to 88 residential buildings, including apartment complexes, for discharging sewage into gutters that ultimately flow into the main nullah.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying function held today (17 April) at Khadpaband Culvert, Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik acknowledged the sorry state of the nullah. “It has been noticed that the nullah has become a dumping ground,” he said, adding that WRD would instal nets on all six culverts to prevent waste disposal.
Citing a common practice, he remarked, “It is often noticed that a couple or husband, while passing on a bike or in a car, stops on a culvert and the wife dumps garbage into the nullah.” He recalled that the nullah was once used for bathing, washing clothes, and agricultural purposes.
He also noted that the PMC has issued notices for the release of domestic waste into the nullah. “When PMC collects door-to-door garbage and has even set up a 15 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), people should make an effort to keep the city clean,” he said.