CALL TO CLEAN GOA AFTER GANGES IS THROUGH

AHMEDABAD: A place is judged by its hygiene level for its cool quotient. Nature has given Goa scenic spots in abundance, the waters, a lush green land, serene views, et al. The Portuguese left behind some very cute buildings. But we have not been able to handle it over a period of time. We have wasted an opportunity. Blame it on ourselves, or blame it on tourists, the state's ugly patches come up now and then as you drive through some of the most picturesque spots.

There is garbage strewn all over the roadside. Suddenly, the ugly patches hit you in the eye. As you drive through, you wonder who is responsible for this mess. What will move our society and our panchayats to get their act together and rid the stretches of garbage? Who is dumping there? Why no action? Who is to bell the cat? A thought comes, why not we dump the garbage in the chief minister's house and see if the authorities will take some action? Probably then the municipalities and panchayats will go and collect it from there.

The state urgently requires garbage dump yards and garbage treatment plants covering all locations. Garbage collection and segregation is an important task of the civic agencies. There are several officials who are drawing huge salaries from the public fund to ensure that this work is done properly. Goa is a small state and should serve as a model state for the country to follow. If we cannot, who else can? Why has it taken such a long time to identify permanent garbage dumps in the state? Why is there no will among our bureaucrats and babus down the line to set this problem right? The common answer one finds from people in high society is that politicians do not have the will. Is it only a politicians' responsibility? Is it not the right of the citizens to fight for this issue? Politicians will act if they know that their citizenry is having an issue with the garbage piling up. So, it's up to us citizens to take on the government on the issue.

We do not have appropriate garbage dumps in the state. Look at what we have and the problems associated with it. The Sonsoddo garbage dump in Margao has been there for more than a decade. The Mapusa municipal council has been dumping garbage at Assagao Plateau for more than a decade for want of an appropriate place. It has turned into an eyesore on the picturesque Assagao Plateau. Panjim has no dumping ground, so CCP has usurped the now non-functional quarry at Taleigao plateau and made it its dump yard recently and is seeking to make it a regular dump yard much to the consternation of the residents around.

In Vasco, Mormugao municipal council has a landfill and garbage treatment plant at Bogda. But MPT complained last year that it causes a nuisance. They went to court. The high court of Bombay at Goa has ruled that the garbage treatment plant is fine, but has asked Mormugao municipal council to shift the landfill to another location. So effectively, most areas of the state do not have appropriate dump yards.

Many apartments have started coming up in Goa. But infrastructure to cater to the increasing number of residential properties and flats is not in place. Even the sewage pipelines and storm water drains are not going to be adequate to cater to the future requirements of the state.

It's time that the government come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with these issues and implement them quickly without waiting for too long. Already, National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has a report which has found that sewage being let out into the river Zuari and river Mandovi has contaminated the waters and during monsoons, many spots in the beaches are contaminated with E.coli, making it unsafe.  It's time to clean up Goa, and so citizen forums too have an onus to fight.