Team Herald
PONDA: Alert residents stopped a truck from dumping waste into a ancient agricultural well at Kerya in Khandepar.
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The truck was intercepted by vigilant locals who had noticed the suspicious activity, despite the remote location of the site.
Social worker Sandeep Parkar, who was alerted by George Dias, one of the first to notice the truck, rushed to the scene along with other residents. “This well is a community landmark, and it is unacceptable that anyone would consider dumping waste here,” said Parkar and added that locals immediately stepped in, stopped the driver and informed the police.
The truck from the Shakti Scrapyard, was filled with a mix of scrap metal and other refuse. Parkar stated that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had recently promised to take action against illegal waste dumping on public roads and open spaces and urged the CM to direct the authorities to look into the matter.
“This is an issue of both environmental protection and public safety. We expect the authorities to act swiftly and hold those responsible to account,” Parkar added.
Rocky Dias, a local social worker who has been involved in past efforts to curb illegal dumping in Khandepar, expressed grave concern over the incident. “This is more than just waste dumping—it looks like an attempt to landfill low-lying areas for land grabbing purposes,” said Dias. “The well is clearly being filled with all sorts of waste, and we demand an investigation into whether there are larger, illegal activities at play.”
In a separate incident, Khandepar residents also caught a sand-laden truck involved in illegal sand mining late on Wednesday night. The vehicle was intercepted and handed over to the police, who are currently investigating both cases.
Local authorities have vowed to take swift action and are urging residents to remain vigilant. Police are continuing to investigate both the illegal dumping and sand trafficking incidents.
