PONDA: A number of natural stormwater drains in Ponda town have been overflowing with sewage from hotels and residential units for a long time now, prompting angered locals to demand immediate intervention by the state health department and the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC).
They said that the situation – particularly opposite Kurtarkar Pharmacy and Dhavlikar Agency at Kaziwada – has resulted in an unbearable stench hanging in the air and has even stoked fears of the outbreak of diseases as dirty water seeps onto the main road.
“It’s been four years now that we have been putting up with this. Complaints were filed before the health department and the PMC. The former has conducted inspections along with the medical and sanitary officers of the Ponda health centre and the municipal inspector of the PMC, and has found that certain hotels and residences are indeed discharging their sewage into the drains. Yet, there has been no resolution,” said shop owner Ratnadeep Kurtarkar.
When contacted, health department officials stated although the PMC was directed to action the matter, nothing seems to have been done.
