MARGAO: Acting tough on the three city-based hotels responsible for discharging its soak pit waters in the drain contaminating underground water, Margao Municipal Chief Officer Narayan Sawant on Wednesday told the hotel owners to first rectify the situation before seeking permission to resume operations.
In another development, PWD officials were horrified to find an underground water pipeline clogged with sewage and plastic waste.
Sawant, who had issued notices ordering closure of the three hotels, told the owners that they will not be permitted to resume operations again till they rectify the situation by constructing the soak pits. “The Council has made it quite clear to the hotel owners to first carry out rectification and then seek permission to resume operations”, Sawant told the media.
It is learnt that a prominent hotel owner did the rounds of the civic body on Wednesday evening, hoping to use his clout to get the operations resumed with permission from the council.
In the meantime, the PWD is still carrying out the exercise to flush out the underground water pipeline following contamination. Wednesday saw the PWD officials opening a junction point along the Station Road only to find plastic waste and sewage water stuck up inside the underground pipeline. “We have cleared the waste from the pipeline. But the water will be released to the establishments after flushing out operation”, informed Assistant Engineer Vijai Kudchadkar.
He said that water will not be released to the establishments till the entire line is flushed out to rule out presence of plastic and sewage waste. Plastic and sewage waste gained entry into the underground line after it was damaged by a JCB machine while repairing a storm water drain near the pick-up stand junction.
