Villagers discovered that waste from Mapusa and Margao was being thrown in a secluded spot for the past six months; Alert locals catch culprits and hand them over to the police
Sal – a village in Bicholim taluka, away from the bustling of the town life and with picturesque nature -- was in for a rude shock when the residents noticed that some unknown persons were defacing the village by dumping waste in a secluded area. Further investigation revealed that the waste was coming not only from Mapusa but also from Margao and other parts of the State. The recently held gram sabha rocked with this issue as the residents sought to know from the sarpanch what measures are being taken for stopping this menace. When Herald visited the site there were heaps of garbage dumped at the site. The dumping of garbage went unnoticed for several months as the place where it is being dumped is away from the residential area and the main road. There is a single bumpy road that leads to the site and a high tension wire going over this site. “We feel that they were dumping this waste at this place for more than six months. We laid a trap on Sunday and caught them red-handed. We have registered a police complaint and proper action should be taken against them,” said Sal sarpanch Prakash Raut. The residents also feel that there are some locals who are also involved in this as the place where the waste is dumped is inaccessible to a person who is not aware of the village. “There could be some locals involved in this dumping. Whenever we kept patrolling at the site the trucks avoided coming and dumping the waste. It is just likely that the residents used to inform them in advance of our presence at the site,” Kalidas Raut a local claimed. “It is surprising that all the waste from Mapusa, Margao and other places is getting deposited here in Sal. If there is any epidemic in the village who should be held responsible?” questions Soma Raut, asking the authorities to take action against the culprits. The residents are also angry as this waste has now led to pollution in the village. “Some of the waste has been burnt and the water from the nearby rivulet has been polluted. The fish from the rivulet is also dying,” said Digambar Raut. “They used to come during night time and dump this garbage here so no one noticed this,” Raut added. “We have handed over the culprits to the police and their vehicle has also been seized. We will again raise this issue in the gram sabha and will see that such thing will not be repeated in this beautiful village,” said another villager Suresh Parab.
