Team Herald
MARGAO: The prevailing scenario at Sonsoddo reveals that all is not well at the dump yard. With the deadline set by the High Court of Bombay at Goa ending on Tuesday (February 28), the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and Margao Municipal Council (MMC) are now finding it “nearly impossible” in clearing the legacy dump and in coming out with a solution to the leachate flowing from the site.
Shockingly, the situation at the dump yard has turned from bad to worse and now even carcasses of pigs and dogs have been dumped here.
GWMC opined that the bioremediation of the pending legacy dump will be completed within the next 10 days. However, the RDF generated from the process will continue to remain here until it is transported to the cement factory or used for land filling by the contractor.
O Heraldo visit to the site on Monday revealed the sorry state of affairs, wherein the shed constructed for baling purpose was full of garbage bags and the wet waste dumped outside the old treatment plant. In addition, the leachate was seen flowing into the open space, and shockingly, the labourers engaged by the authorities concerned were working in the unhygienic conditions.
It may be recalled that terming the Sonsoddo legacy dump a serious health hazard, the High Court of Bombay at Goa in September last year had directed the GWMC Managing Director and the MMC chairperson to clear the dump before February 28, 2023.
The court had said that the GWMC and MMC shall be held personally responsible for non-compliance with these directions. The HC order had further directed the GWMC and the contractor to jointly ensure that the problem of leachate from the garbage dump is addressed within a week and to file a necessary compliance report in court within 10 days.
“We have almost finished with the legacy dump and hardly a quantity has been left,” informed Levinson Martins, GWMC MD.
He said that the work at the site is in full swing and the bioremediation of the pending legacy dump will be completed within 10 days.
But, he too felt that the RDF generated from the legacy dump will continue to remain at the site until and unless the contractor transports the same to the cement factory or uses it for land filling.
Shockingly, the flow of leachate from the waste continues and the MMC is yet to construct a tank to divert the leachate.
Speaking to O Heraldo, MMC chairperson Damodar Shirodkar said that the civic body is in the process of constructing the tank at the Sonsoddo site and the work will be completed at the earliest.
However, he stated that the two trips of trucks laden with wet waste are being transported to Saligao treatment plant, but with no place inside the old treatment plant at Sonsoddo, wet waste is dumped in an open space.
O Heraldo witnessed the carcasses of two pigs and five dogs dumped in the waste at Sonsoddo, which caused the entire vicinity to stink. This caused further hardship to the workers engaged in baling the waste.
“The stink of the decomposed pigs and dogs is unbearable and we are not able to work properly here”, complained a labourer at the site.
The labourers said, of the five, only two baling machines are working and the remaining ones are yet to be repaired. Earlier, the civic body had expressed confidence that the additional baling machines would resolve the issue; however, the site reveals a different story.
The MMC has its task cut out at Sonsoddo on how to manage the wet waste and to ensure that the dry waste is baled and disposed of to the places designated by the GWMC.
