MARGAO: When the Margao Municipality inked an agreement with Fomento on February 1, 2011 to set up a waste treatment plant at Sonsodo, the two sides had agreed to earmark land admeasuring 200 sq mts for a common bio-medical waste disposal facility. Fomento had made it quite clear to the civic body that it will not accept any non-conforming waste, including bio-medical waste at Sonsodo, as and when the company takes charge of the dump yard. Sadly, bio-medical waste quietly finds its way at the Sonsodo waste dumping site even today in the absence of any mechanism worth its name in place in the city. Since the last three years, from February 1, 2011 till date, there’s been not a single instance wherein the civic body had taken the initiative to demarcate land at Sonsodo to earmark 200 sq mts for the proposed bio-medical waste treatment facility. In fact, land is no more a problem at Sonsodo to set up a bio-medical waste disposal facility with the civic body acquiring additional land admeasuring 53,000 sq mts at Sonsodo. But lack of political will on the part of the city fathers coupled with administrative apathy have grounded plans for a common bio-medical waste facility in the commercial capital. The commercial capital plays host to around 26 nursing homes and hospitals and over 200 clinics dotting across the city. A couple of nursing homes have claimed to have put in place a mechanism to dispose of waste in pits in their backyard after treatment. But it’s not uncommon to find syringes, needles and untreated waste finding its way to the Sonsodo dump yard via the municipal trucks for want of segregation at source. The city’s medical fraternity, however, says that a permanent solution lies in setting up of a common medical waste treatment facility. And they appear more than willing to support the civic body in its attempt to address the burning problem. Incidentally, the Margao civic body had last interacted with the medical fraternity to explore a solution to the burning medical waste problem way back in 2009 during the tenure of former Chairperson Savio Coutinho. Since then, there’s been no initiative from the civic body, pushing the issue on a backburner. Says outgoing president of Association of Private Nursing Homes, Goa, Dr Deepak Lawande: “We have time and again told the civic body that nursing homes and clinics are willing to pay for the bio-medical waste treatment facility. I personally feel that attempts by individual nursing homes and clinics would not solve the problem. Let the municipality fix charges by taking us into confidence and we will be more than willing to pay the fees”. Renowned city-based cardiologist, Dr Francisco Colaco said the issued needs to be tackled with utmost urgency before it goes out of hand. “All the stakeholders should come together for the common good of the city. This issue should be addressed on a priority”, he added. Former MMC chairperson Savio Coutinho recalled that the civic body had a fruitful meeting with representatives of nursing homes and clinics, but hastened to add that the proposal could not take off after the government maintained that it will come out with a centralised bio-medical waste treatment facility. “The government stand put spokes in our plan to go in for a common waste treatment facility at Sonsodo. I feel that all stakeholders should come together and address the issue in the interest of the city”, Coutinho added. Incumbent MMC chairperson Dayanand Deulkar, a medical representative by profession, agreed that the bio-medical waste problem needs to be addressed on a top most priority. “Right now, the civic body is preoccupied with solid waste management project at Sonsodo. It will take some time for the civic body to address the bio-medical waste problem”, Deulkar said, giving indications that the burning issue is certainly not on the priority list of his administration at least for the moment.