NESHWIN ALMEIDA
What comes to us as a shocker is the filthy and inhuman conditions under which the Kadamba Bus Stand at Margao, Depot canteen runs. A canteen for the employees and drivers at the depot and also open for the general public. The canteen was opened in 1996 by the then Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane and this 22-year-old premise has never undergone any maintenance works and is in a filthy condition.
Shocking to see is the canteen interiors with no display of the contractor, FDA licence or municipal permission and the filthy conditions, broken roof and unclean floors.
“We have in fact closed this canteen on grounds of unhygienic conditions on so many occasions, raided the contractor and made them comply to the Food and Drugs Act but we continuously hear complaints of default and unhygienic conditions. We’ll now urge KTC to close this canteen and revamp it,” explained FDA director Deepa Sardessai who took over recently .
While Civil engineer Gurudas Naik, opined that since the premises is on Directorate of Transport property and a new bus stand is commissioned but construction is in limbo, the question of revamp or renovation through GSIDC looks impossible and hence the KTC is forced to function in this manner.
Sadly also when Team Herald interacted with Saish the manager at the canteen he refused to put us in touch with the contractor, barred Team Herald from taking footage of the shabby canteen and did not reply as to why the permission certificates and the name of the canteen contractor is not displayed.
Annie Fernandes, a vegetable vendor who shockingly functions within the KTC department in the canteen premises selling vegetables, tells Herald that the restaurant is so filthy that “forget the public but even drivers and employees of KTC don’t eat there and often the same mop is used to wipe the tables and the floor.” Annie says she’s grateful though that the contractor allows her as a vendor within the canteen to sell vegetables though.
While the TCP minister and Fatorda MLA admitted the infrastructure is in a bad state but explained that a design commissioned by Digambar Kamat is for another White Elephant and hence he’s reworking the design of the bus stand and the eateries within the bus stand and then take up renovation.
The drivers at the bus stand say that the toilets, office conditions and most importantly the canteen conditions at the depot are a mess and really in a terrible condition with dirty cans used to store water and cook. But sadly the union has little impact on the department for better conditions including implementation of seventh pay commissions.
