Fire rages at Sonsoddo once again

Margao: The garbage dump at Sonsoddo in Margao once again caught fire on Sunday evening, forcing officials from the Margao municipal council to abandon the Shigmo parade and rush to the site.

According to sources, around 5 pm, the Margao municipality officials received information about smoke emanating from the garbage that was segregated and placed opposite the building facility at the Sonsoddo dump.

Upon receiving the information, chief officer Ajit Panchwadkar, chairperson Pooja Naik and others rushed to the site along with a fire tender that was deployed for the Shigmo parade. Additional fire tenders were also requisitioned soon to battle the flames. Police and officials from the South Goa district administration also rushed to the site.

Speaking to media persons, several hours after beginning the fire-fighting operation, deputy director of fire and emergency services Nitin Raiker said three fire tenders have reported to the site with more being requisitioned.“As soon as we were informed of the fire, we immediately prepared ourselves and one fire tender was deployed to attend to the fire. Two more tenders were sent from the Margao fire station soon after. A total of three fire tenders have reported at the site and are working to bring the flames under control. Fire tenders from Curchorem and Ponda have also been summoned,” said Raiker.

Officials present at the site included South Goa district Deputy Collector Vishal Kundaikar and joint mamlatdar Prataprao Gaunkar while District Collector Ajit Roy was in constant telephonic conversation with the officials on the progress of the fire-extinguishing operation.

The fire at the Sonsoddo dump on Sunday began at one corner of the facility opposite the building block where segregated garbage was placed to be bailed. Later in the evening, dry vegetation in the vicinity also caught fire, causing it to spread. One of the machines used for bioremediation at the dump was also moved to make way for the fire tenders to fight the flames from another side of the dump.

It may be noted that a survey worker of a private agency had suffered burn injuries, as he was electrocuted in an accident at the Sonsoddo garbage dump on December 5, 2019. The electric spark generated by the short circuit had triggered a fire, with a large stack of dry waste piled up near the dump going up in flames.

Earlier too, on May 27, 2019, the Sonsoddo dump had caught fire and even services of a Mumbai-based firm were availed. An enzyme was used to stop methane formation at the site and control the fire. Though fire tenders had managed to extinguish the fire, it broke out again in small pockets and the whole area continued to be covered with smoke. The fire was a result of continuous bacterial activity at the dump site, as wet waste was mixed with the dry, due to non-segregation of the waste.