Team Herald
PANJIM: There’s a foul smell that engulfs Goa and Panjim’s prime commercial enclave, Patto Plaza. It is the smell of untreated garbage. Ward Nos 23 and 28, covering the Patto area and the localities near People’s High School, just opposite the Old Patto Bridge, have a common problem to share – the Patto stink.
Ward No 23 is represented by Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate panel’s former councillor Rudresh Chodankar and BJP’s Nivedeta Chopdekar represents ward No 28. Both have failed to tackle this crucial issue despite there being continuous complaints by the locals and authorities in the area. Irrespective of what works these councillors have done in their respective wards, their voters complain of the odour emanating from the garbage facility, creating environmental and health problems.
“We have repeatedly complained to our councillors but they have no answer to give. CCP is least bothered about our problems. The stink is so bad that it is very difficult to live in the area. In the last three to four years the situation has worsened,” a voter from Ward 28, Siddhi, a law graduate, said.
Ward 27, represented by Mayor Shubham Chodankar and covering Mala is also affected by the garbage nuisance to some extent.
Residents of Fontainhas, St Tome, Mala, Cortim, Patto colony, and office workers at the EDC Patto complex have been breathing the foul air for the past eight years, thanks to CCP’s mismanagement of the garbage treatment facility at Patto that treats the city’s wet waste.
Despite being pulled up by Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) repeatedly over the plant behind SBI, CCP has ignored the issue. In the latest order, GSPCB has asked CCP to shift the facility behind Heera Petrol Pump latest by May 31.
“Lots of complaints have been received by the corporators asking that the garbage treatment at the site be stopped as the smell is gut-wrenching. It is hardly 100 mts away from residential areas, the schools are the worst affected. These children are likely to face health issues,” Chodankar said.
The garbage problem at Patto started in 2007 when students and teachers from the nearby schools began complaining of the foul smell. Nine years later the complaints still continue.
The candidates for the March 6 elections, Suresh Chopdekar (BJP), Vithal Chopdekar (Babush) and Suraj Kandolkar (Congress) have a major challenge before them in tackling the garbage stink.
