Wet waste at Taleigao ‘dry’ site could poison water table

PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has been dumping wet waste at the quarry at Taleigao, which was cleared for dry garbage alone.

Wet garbage, which is being dumped here since CCP started collecting hotel waste, can lead to the seepage of effluents into the soil, leading to the development of leachates (liquid bearing the effluents) and the subsequent pollution of the water table.

It can also attract birds that can in turn pose a danger to aircraft at the Dabolim airport just across the bay from Taleigao, say experts. “We had cleared the site for the Taleigao panchayat and for dumping of dry garbage. CCP has not approached us,” Goa State Pollution Control Board chairman Simon de Souza told TOI. While Taleigao panchayat used the site to dump dry waste, CCP began dumping wet hotel waste from January 2009.

Panaji mayor Yatin Parekh said, “We have been dumping at Taleigao for the past two years and because of the monsoon we have temporarily stopped. After the monsoon we may start again.”