NO SOLUTION TO SEWAGE MENACE IN MARGAO

MARGAO

Has the government agencies, including the Goa State Pollution Control Board, Sewerage Corporation and the PWD come up with a solution to the perennial issue of city drains discharging sewerage into the fields and lakes?

The four-week High Court deadline for the agencies to find a solution to the issue so that sewerage is not discharged into the fields and lakes through such drains expired on Monday.

On the contrary, leave alone getting the commercial establishments and residential housing societies to take sewerage connections and stop the sewerage flow into the drains, the overflowing sewage chambers have come to haunt the Sewerage and Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa (SIDCG) and the PWD during the recent rains.

Consider this. The Margao Municipal Council had issued notices to over 100 hotels and restaurants to connect their septic tanks and soak pits to the underground sewerage line. While some had reportedly complied with the diktat, many others did not even deem fit to reply to the show-cause notices.

The Margao Municipal Council has now compiled a list of around 40 hotels and establishments and is believed to have imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on around eight hotels for violating the directions of taking the sewerage connections.

Incidentally, a group of hoteliers that had called on the Margao Municipal Chief Officer Rohit Kadam pointed out that there are certain areas in the heart of the commercial capital where the PWD has not laid the line.

The hoteliers wonder how they can be punished for no fault of theirs when the underground line is passing metres away from the place of business.

The ground reality, however, remains unchanged, with officials saying that the changes, if any, will be seen on the ground after the monsoons.

A drive down on the ring road at Comba would expose the grim reality of sewage water mixed with rainwater gushing out from a damaged sewage chamber. The water from the chamber is entering the stormwater nullah before the water finds its way into river Sal.

A senior MMC official told The Goan that the civic body has issued around 18 fresh notices to the erring business establishments. The official, however, was silent when questioned about who will crack the whip against the errant establishments.

MMC leaves action against erring establishments to govt agencies

MARGAO: Call it a game of passing the buck or otherwise, the Margao Municipal Council has pushed the blame on government agencies to crack a whip against erring business establishments discharging sewage into the drains.

MMC Chief Officer has dashed off letters to the Margao Urban Health Centre, General Manager, GIDCGL, Executive Engineer, Sewerage, Assistant engineer, PWD, Executive engineer, Electricity and the Member Secretary, Goa State Pollution Control Board calling for action against establishments discharging sewage into the stormwater drains as the High Court directions.

The MMC has reminded these departments that if any residential/commercial buildings/restaurants or any other business etc are notified/observed discharging sewage in the stormwater drain then the water connections of the premises is liable to be disconnected.

What’s interesting to note is that the MMC has left action against the erring establishments and residential houses to these departments.

Who will take up job to check underground line?

MARGAO: Is Margao’s underground sewerage line checked for defects and blockages after the recent rains exposed hollow the Sewerage & Infrastructure Development Corporation and the PWD after the sewage manholes overflowed and resembled fountains across the city?

It isn’t clear whether the corporation will take up the job to check the underground line or will leave it to the PWD to carry out a thorough check, more so after several sewage manholes overflowed at many places with rain water gushing into the line.

Officials of the Sewerage Corporation in private have taken the stand that maintenance of the underground sewerage line rests with the PWD, sewerage.

On the other hand, the PWD, Sewerage officials conceded that maintenance is no doubt the job of the department, but has raised questions about whether the line laid by the contractors is as per the specifications.

The officials further pointed out that the corporation should also find out whether the Defect Liability Period of the contract has ended, further pointing out that the contractors should be made to remove the defects in the line, if any, given that several manholes had overflowed during the recent rains.

ROBOT ENTERS CITY’S SEWER MANHOLES TO UNCLOG LINE

MARGAO

The Bandicoot robot designed to clean up the choked sewer manholes has entered the city’s maintenance holes to de-clog the line.

Exactly a month after the ONGC handed over a robot to the PWD, Sewerage under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the robot is on a twin mission in the city – imparting training to the PWD staff to operate the robot and in the bargain clean up the clogged and choked manholes in the city.

The Bandicoot robot was put to use by the PWD on the Borda road on Tuesday to check its efficacy as well as to train the staff in the handling of the mechanical device.

A senior PWD official informed that the agency, which has designed the robot, is on the job to impart training to the PWD staff in handling the robot for its day-to-day use.

The agency has claimed that the robot will do away with manual scavenging and save the lives of the workers engaged in sewerage work.