Team Herald
MARGAO: Around 1,200 metric tonnes of treated waste got spilled over after the wall of the Solid Waste Management Treatment Plant at Sonsoddo collapsed on Saturday.
It is learnt that the massive mound of garbage stored inside the plant led to the wall collapse. At present earthmoving machinery has been pressed into service to clear the waste that got spilled over from the plant.
On receiving the news about the wall collapse incident, Margao Municipal Council (MMC) officials including the engineers, chairperson Lyndon Pereira and councillor Sadanand (Paklo) Naik rushed to the site.
A site inspection has been carried out and the MMC chairperson has now called for a special council meeting scheduled on Monday evening, where resolutions will be taken with regards to the work to repair the wall and other measures.
After holding discussions with Naik and the MMC staff, Pereira said they were in the process of writing to the government to use the 14th Finance Commission funds to repair another external structure which got damaged in the fire incident reported outside the plant on March 4, 2022.
“We will propose to club the wall repair work and the earlier damaged structure using the 14th Finance Commission funds,” said Pereira.
“We will also write to the Goa State Waste Management Corporation (GSWMC) to remove the waste inside the plant and see if it can be stored at the legacy dump site,” Pereira said.
The MMC chief said the wall collapsed between 7 and 8 am, and they were informed about the incident by the workers at the site.
Pereira and MMC engineers said the work to recycle the waste is underway but at a slow pace.
The MMC engineer said the waste is being treated via natural process and not using the outdated machinery of Fomento Green lying abandoned at the site.
Pereira said on account of no electricity, the machinery could not be used inside the plant. While Fomento, the former concessionaire, had handed over possession of the plant back to the MMC, the engineer explained that the waste collected at the site is turned every 45 days using an earthmoving machine to remove the moisture and the dry waste is screened thereafter.
The engineer explained that three types of material are derived from the waste – compost, inert and Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). Heavy material, plastic and other material that is separated after the screening process is also stored inside the plant at different locations whereas the treated waste is also stored inside the plant but at another location.
For clarity, there are two waste dumps at Sonsoddo, one inside the plant and the other at the legacy dump site.
While bioremediation work of the legacy dump site is being carried out by GSMWC, the High Court in its order did not permit the MMC to shift the waste from the plant to the legacy dump site.
“We will wait for GSMWC to reply by Monday and see what can be done then,” Pereira said.
The MMC officials said estimates for the repair work of the SWM plant are being prepared and added that they hope that the tender for the same will be passed soon.
