The government is playing with safety of Sharada Mandir children by not finishing the road construction work in front of the school on time. The area is a mess, dug pits can be death traps and the monsoons are just weeks away. And next week, the primary section is re-opening which will, bring in even smaller children to school. TEAM HERALD was on the spot at 1 pm on Thursday to meet parents
PANJIM: On June 3, we asked you watch this space. We went back to the entrance of Sharada Mandir at Miramar at 1 pm on the third day of school after it reopened, and saw that what we feared was not just true but worse. With one stretch of the road blocked due to the concretization of the stretch of the Miramar – Dona Paula road, students and parents were literally trapped among the mud, debris and cars as the school concluded. The government which promised to complete the road before the school opened wasn’t there to see what we saw.
With the advent of the monsoon, this road if not completed on a war footing will turn out to be a worse nightmare than it already is given that there are piles of mud and pits that will obviously fill up with water once the monsoon hits the state in its full fury
Many parents have expressed their fear and concern about the safety of students once the monsoons begin.
BEACH GARBAGE MESS: Over to the people
PANJIM: They are the affected, and they are the ones responsible. Herald has taken a stand that blame game has to stop, but give the people of the area a chance to pinpoint why Calangute and its surroundings can’t get rid of its garbage. Vibha Verma meets them.
Residents of Calangute and Candolim villages expressed their disgust at the garbage problem, and admitted that they knew it was serious. But this growing realization is tinged with a degree of helplessness over the major crisis faced by these semi urban and very tourism centric areas.
They point out that garbage is being dumped behind every pillar and post; and that nullahs and culverts that ultimately lead to the sea are becoming garbage filled reservoirs. The dangerous part of this is that there is biodegradable garbage being dumped, but wrapped in plastic which ensures that the garbage does not degrade but remains and rots within the plastic itself.
Experts however argue that people too should take responsibility for segregation and try and keep plastics that are recyclable separate from biodegradable waste that can be easily composted.
Many locals say that it is tourism itself that has led to a lot of the garbage as tourists dump garbage anywhere – including plastic and beer bottles. And there is no system to control this.
However, locals say that there are no dustbins and so tourists to dump their garbage anywhere and everywhere; and with no place to treat waste, garbage is dumped in landfills that will ultimately fill up. And so when one fills up, one has to move to another place, and fill up another landfill.
“Calangute is losing its charm. There are limited foreigners visiting the area and the beach. The situation is such that even locals from other parts of the State are reluctant to visit the beach. It is now called a ‘garbage place.’ The domestic tourists are mostly responsible for throwing the garbage but they can’t be blamed alone. When there are no dustbins available, where will the trash be dumped? Travel websites have flashed pictures and information about the dirtiness in Calangute.”
– Lourenco Fernandes, Calangute guest house owner
“It is a serious problem… there are hardly any bins on the beach or the streets. Since people have no alternative, they dump in the open space and this invites cattle. During the nights from Calangute market to the beach, cattle occupy the space. The garbage issue is more during the tourist season but it doesn’t mean the problem is negligible in off-season. None know how to tackle the problem… I once saw a foreigner lady voluntarily picking garbage from the beaches. This was painful because what we couldn’t see, the foreigner felt and thought to bring a change. This issue needs urgent solution with combined efforts from every possible agency and local citizens.”
– Benedict Lobo, Calangute resident
rn
rn
