Margao Municipal Council’s unprecedented move to close the Aquem ring road from dusk to dawn appears intended to rid the road of the garbage dark spot.

Just a glance at the MMC’s proposal to the District Magistrate, South to shut the road between 7 pm to 7 am daily will reveal that the move is intended to stop garbage dumping along the ringside and rid the area of the eyesore.

Margao civic officials claim in private that the unprecedented move will help reduce the number of garbage dark spots from 37 to 36, dotting across the city.

In the bargain, however, the Margao municipality may have to grapple with a moot question -- whether the closure of roads is an answer to the menace of garbage dark spots, presently under the High Court scanner. For, many a dark spot is located along the city roadside, with the illumination a far cry and the areas not under the CCTV radar.

The Comba ring road is a case in point. Like the Aquem ring road, the kilometre-long Comba ring road has become a dark spot. The entire stretch, starting from the Comba subway to the Old market circle, has virtually become a dumping ground.

Making matters worse on the Comba ring road, like the Aquem ring road, is that the entire stretch has no illumination, offering a perfect ground for unscrupulous elements to dump waste.

The ground reality at Comba may throw up a simple question for the municipality – whether this ring road too will be shut down between dusk and dawn daily to stop waste dumping?

Incidentally, inquiries have only revealed that most of the garbage dark spots in the city are located along key roads, throwing up the question of whether the closure of roads is a solution.

Inquiries have revealed that the commercial capital had played host to a whopping 65 black spots a couple of years ago, with the number now hovering around 37.

An MMC official pointed out that the closure of the Aquem ring road, connecting the Aquem power house to the Margao fire station, Aquem side of the Margao railway station and the Apollo hospital, may not be a solution, saying that the development of the dark spots via beautification may be the answer.

"The municipality has reduced the number of dark spots from around 67 just a couple of years to 37. Beautification of the dark spots and securing the area has helped to stop garbage dumping at the sites," the official said.

Absence of illumination may come to haunt authorities

The absence of illumination may come to haunt the authorities if the two Aquem and Comba ring roads, built with the avowed objective to decongest the commercial capital, now resemble garbage dark spots.

For, while these ring roads have come in handy for motorists to escape the traffic snarls on the congested city roads, there was no provision to illuminate them since commissioning a couple of years ago. Unscrupulous elements have taken the advantage of the darkness to dump waste.

Take the case of the Comba ring road. Motorists and pedestrians tend to avoid the isolated stretch after sunset for want of illumination. A drive down the Comba ring road reveals that not a street light pole has been erected on the entire stretch, spanning around a kilometre.

Requests of illumination from citizens have only fallen on the deaf ears of the authorities, who seemed content with opening the Comba ring road to comply with the High Court's directions.

When The Goan called up the Power department to ascertain whether it has any plan to illuminate the Comba ring road, an official said it has now received a proposal from the PWD to take up the illumination work, adding that work is underway to prepare the estimates.

As far as the Aquem ring road is concerned, the entire stretch is being taken up for beautification by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC). 

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