The baling unit was meant to recycle plastic waste from adjoining areas, but all types of waste from as far as Anjuna has been dumped at Cacora and the unbearable stench has infuriated the residents of Voddlemoll-Cacora, Curchorem.
Things came to a boiling point when religious services were recently disrupted at the Holy Cross Chapel, Voddlemoll, after house flies and mosquitoes entered the chapel and the congregation could not bear the stench emanating from the nearby baling site, set up at Cacora Industrial Estate to make pellets out of plastic waste.
Confirming the disruption in religious services, the priest from a local church told Herald: “it was a very bad experience and we hope that authorities will take necessary steps to resolve the problem.”Speaking to Herald, ward councillor Alifa Fernandes said the government had assured them that only plastic waste from Quepem, Sanguem and Dharbandora talukas would be brought at the site and would be converted into pellets without creating any adverse effects.“But when we checked the entry register of the baling unit, we noticed that waste from as far as Parra, Anjuna, Mapusa, Penha-da-Franca and Porvorim in North Goa had been brought to the unit. Medical waste was also being dumped at the site,” informed Alifa.
“The residents have objected to these clandestine dumping activities and have demanded that this project be shifted away from the residential area. They have also urged the State government to set up baling units in each constituency of the State,” Alifa added.
Chapel Committee President Simon Rodrigues said he had called on local MLA Nilesh Cabral, who sought time till Friday to resolve the issue.“Cabral also assured us to take up the matter with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to work out an amicable solution,” he said.
Chapel Committee Vice President Menino Fernandes added that people are now worried that if the situation continued, religious services could be discontinued at the chapel.
“If the problem is not resolved by Friday, residents will decide future course of action,” cautioned Menino.
Speaking to Herald, former MLA Shyam Satardekar accused the government of hiding information and misguiding the people. “How could waste from other parts of the State come to the baling unit site at Cacora without the knowledge of the government,” he questioned.
Opposing the collection of any kind of garbage from other parts of Goa, Satardekar said: “If the government is really serious about the plant, it can set it up at the Verna Industrial Estate, which is more suitable and centrally located in Goa.”
“If the government cannot control one baling unit, how will it manage the proposed 100-tonne garbage treatment plant at Curchorem?”
“About 30 years back, two panchayats from Cacora and Curchorem were merged to form the municipality. Till date, Curchorem collects only 10 tonnes of garbage. One can only imagine how many more years it would take Curchorem to collect 100 tonnes of garbage per day,” added Satardekar.Despite repeated attempts, Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral was not available to comment in the matter.
