NT Reporter
Margao
Some residents of Margao have expressed their resentment regarding the decision by government authorities to relocate numerous abandoned and accident-damaged two-wheelers from the Margao police station premises to the Sonsoddo waste dump site, effectively converting the area into a graveyard for
scrapped vehicles.
Although authorities including the Margao police and the Margao Municipality have defended the relocation as an emergency public health measure to curb a sudden surge in dengue cases among police personnel and emphasised that it is a temporary arrangement, residents contend that the civic body has transformed the waste management site
into a scrapyard.
Viral video footage has emerged depicting the dumping of two-wheelers at the Sonsoddo site, even as public entry remains prohibited by the Margao
Municipality.
Sources said that the immediate relocation was prompted by an inspection conducted by PWD Minister Digambar Kamat at the South Goa District Police Headquarters. Kamat visited the facility after several police officers and their family members recently tested positive for dengue. The inspection revealed that the impounded, accident-involved, and abandoned two-wheelers in the police station’s open areas had become mosquito breeding grounds, with water stagnating inside the storage compartments of the dumped scooters and motorcycles.
“Sonsoddo is already a significant environmental disaster. The municipality has failed to resolve the waste management crisis for decades. Now, they are utilising the Sonsoddo area as a convenient dumping ground for scrap and accident vehicles. Shifting a mosquito breeding hazard from a police station to Sonsoddo does not address the underlying
issue. Why were these vehicles not auctioned or systematically disposed of years ago?” questioned Kenneth Borges, a resident of Margao.
Administrator for the Margao Municipality Srineth Kothwale said that the authorities are addressing a critical health concern. “This temporary relocation was decided after observing that several police officials had fallen ill. Following the inspection by the PWD Minister, it was brought to our attention that stagnant water within these vehicles was directly responsible for mosquito breeding. As the land at Sonsoddo is owned by the municipality, permission was granted to the police to shift these two-wheelers temporarily,” he said. In response to local demands for an expedited auction process, he further said that legal procedures for the disposal of these vehicles have been initiated.
