Municipalities with other govt agencies must adhere to high sanitary standards
An inspection conducted by the Mapusa urban health centre and the Mapusa municipality on Thursday exposed the unhygienic condition prevailing in the Mapusa fish and meat complex in the municipal market. It was due to a complaint filed by an alert citizen that issues pertaining to waste management, unsanitary conditions, messy surroundings, illegal operation of stalls, and lack of basic services, among several other deficiencies came to light.
The inspection team, led by Dr Dinesh Parab, health officer of the urban health centre in Mapusa, revealed what customers have seen—that the meat complex fares very poorly on health and hygienic parameters. What’s worse is that stalls were found to be operating without mandatory permissions from the Goa State Pollution Control Board, the health department, and the directorate of food and drugs administration. MMC’s role in the upkeep of the complex appears dismal. The inspection report will be an eye-opener to the government authorities who are habituated to acting only on complaints. Suo moto action is important by the authorities concerned in the interest of citizens’ health.
What was revealed in the Mapusa market is not acceptable in the post-pandemic world, where infections such as bird flu, Covid, and other viruses are known to cause severe health issues. It’s good that the health centre inspected the market complex. However, citizens, especially shoppers, expect that the authorities visit the market at regular intervals and issue necessary directions towards its upkeep and maintenance.
The FDA, the GSPCB, and other agencies need to realise that they have a mandate of protecting and promoting public health. The health authorities should also create awareness among vendors on maintaining cleanliness. It’s high time the directorate of municipal administration issued necessary directions to municipalities to pull up their socks. Civic bodies seem to be content with sopo collection and clearing waste from the market. Waste collection itself is shoddy and needs an upgrade. The Mapusa market is frequented not only by city dwellers but also by those from the entire Bardez taluka. The weekly Friday market here is famous across Goa. Even tourists are brought to the Friday bazaar by tour operators. What impression will they take back?
The job of the municipalities can’t be only to collect taxes, manage waste, and issue licences. For many, issues such as construction licences and occupancy certificates seem more important. What services are being provided to the citizens who visit the market and also to vendors and shopkeepers? There cannot be any compromise on hygiene and cleanliness. Is there a proper drainage system in the meat and fish market complex? Is there a functional effluent treatment plant, or are the effluents flushed into the nearby nullah? There has to be a complete overhaul of the sanitation system of all markets. Just having a market complex is not as important
as its upkeep.
There should also be other facilities such as parking, drinking water facilities, and clean toilets, etc. Overall, the government must make municipal market upkeep a top priority and make necessary provisions for the purpose in the forthcoming budget so that civic bodies cannot cite the lack of funds as an excuse. Municipalities also need to be pulled up by the government for failing in their responsibilities. Let there be an audit of municipal markets, especially fish and meat complexes.
