Team Herald
DABOLIM: The dumping of garbage by a contractor appointed by Airport Authority of India (AAI) that too beside the four-lane National Highway 17B leading to airport, has become an eyesore for tourists who arrive in Goa attracted by the beauty of the State.
The issue of dumping of garbage near Dabolim airport was brought to the notice of Herald by a concerned citizen from Chicalim. Accordingly, when Herald team visited the site, it was noticed that huge quantity of plastic bags filled with garbage from the airport was dumped at the site with few women seen engaged in segregating it at the site, located between INS Hansa compound and NH17 road and is in close proximity of the INS Hansa main gate.
As the issue was serious and as the Naval authorities have been striving hard to curtail bird hit menace at Dabolim airport reportedly due to garbage, Herald contacted Chicalim Panchayat Sarpanch Neelima Naik and Navy officials at INS Hansa and they were shocked to hear about the garbage dumping site close to Dabolim International Airport by AAI.
Chicalim Sarpanch Neelima said, “This is something very serious, as we have been trying hard to eliminate garbage menace from our village and if AAI has been dumping waste near the Dabolim airport then it is a matter of concern and the panchayat will not allow this to happen. We will surely inspect the site and will issue notice to AAI for openly converting a site close to the spring as garbage dumping and segregation site which is also located very close to the road leading to airport and will be an eyesore”.
A senior naval officer at INS Hansa too raised serious concern saying that the issue would be taken up immediately before AAI and other authorities in the State administration.
“We are not aware of such site, however if the AAI has been dumping garbage near our main gate, then, the issue is serious as it would lead to bird-hits and we are going to take this matter very seriously with the AAI and other authorities in the State administration,” a navy officer told Herald under condition of anonymity.
Interestingly, when the issue was brought before the Director of AAI, Goa airport, B C H Negi, he claimed that he has no such information about such dumping site. Later, Negi along with the AAI officials visited the site and were surprised to note that their own contractor was dumping all the garbage from the airport at that site without giving any intimation to the AAI.
“I have visited the site and found that most of the garbage that has been dumped there is from the airport. We were shocked to note that though we had provided a place to the contractor for such dumping in a plot near old terminal building, still the contractor has dumped garbage at a wrong site,” Negi said.
“Now the issue has been brought to our notice; we have already instructed the contractor to immediately shift the garbage to the allotted site and clear the area,” Negi told Herald.
