MARGAO: As the sanitation department of Margao Municipal Council has no say absolutely in issuing or renewal of any licences, it is reduced to only rushing like a fire-tender whenever there is any problem instead of giving its suggestions to avoid the problem as in the past.
Probably that is the reason why in Margao, a city that is not totally connected to sewerage treatment plant, there are constant complaints of overflowing septic tanks and soak pits.
Earlier, all applications for any licence or renewal were routed to the sanitation department for its say and depending upon that the application was processed further. However, all this came to an end when IAS officer Naveen was appointed the Chief Officer of MMC reportedly because of a spat over dogs that he had with the Sanitary Inspector.
Since then only the taxation department processes all applications for licences or renewals as a result of which the sanitation aspect of the constructions or establishments is totally overlooked which could have a telling effect on not only the people living in Margao but even those visiting it.
Margao has several establishments that serve food or snacks. These include the various restaurants, snack shops, cafeterias, etc. For the last two years nobody has bothered to check the sanitation aspect of these establishments.
The sanitary department used to make sure that these establishments have fitted “grease traps” to their water outlets so that no food waste gets into the drainage system to clog it. It used to ensure that pest control was done regularly so that no rodents or cockroaches and other pests inhabit the kitchen or godown.
As nobody is checking this now, it is not very surprising that there are growing complaints of drainages getting clogged and overflowing specially at buildings that house eating outlets. The godowns and kitchens of these outlets are crying for an inspection to ensure that clean and proper material is used for cooking.
Besides, while issuing occupancy certificates to buildings and houses, nobody checks the capacity of the septic tank or soak pit which is extremely necessary considering the fact that Margao is not totally connected to the sewerage treatment plant. The sanitation department used to check this earlier.
Thus it is not surprising that septic tanks of buildings overflow even within a year of their occupancy and the sanitation department has to then rush to clean up the mess that could have been avoided in the first place. Ironically even though the council at one of its meetings last year had resolved that the sanitation department be brought back in the loop for issuing of any licences or renewals, the same has not been done as yet.
