Media Release
Goa, Oct 27: “I salute you for the humane work you do every day so that the general members of the society can do their daily work without any hardships to them. You engage yourself in the collection and transportation of all the trash dumped in an uncivilized way in and around dustbins provided by the municipalities. I salute you not because you do this work regularly but because you do it in a very unhygienic and dangerous style. Ask for good quality accessories form the municipality authorities and use them religiously while performing your duties. Do regular health checkups to protect yourself, protect your family and the entire society,” said Dr Gunaji Desai.
He addressed the staff members of the Margao Municipality who are related with the collection and transportation of the garbage generated in the municipal area.
Dr Gunaji further said that it is the right of every employee to know about their rights and duties. The MSW Act is in force since year 2000 but till 2013 most of the good clauses and suggestions are not implemented by the respective authorities. How MSW 2000 guidelines are not followed and how exactly opposite ways are followed by the staff related with the handling and transportation of garbage were shown to the municipal employees by showing the eye opening pictures and videos. These videos were well received by the employees as their own friends were handling the garbage in a most dangerous way unprotected and exposed to various dangers.
The second session was conducted for the elected councilors and the administrative staff of the municipality. He appealed the councilors and the administrative employees to look at the challenges faced by the employees related with garbage handling and transportation through the videos. The council members who were present for the program were requested to work for the benefit of the entire society. It is the voters trust and faith which sent them in the municipality. Municipality is the supreme body above all party politics. The holiness of this institution has to be preserved. He requested the councilors to do the awareness campaign in coordination with the student volunteers. Awareness is the only way of tackling most of the social issues. When it is done with the trained volunteers it will certainly bring desired results. It will take time but we will get good yield, he added.
The program was organized by chief officer Margao municipality Deepali Naik, for creating awareness among the municipality staff, elected representatives with an intention of organizing awareness campaign in all the twenty wards of Margao municipality. She did the power point presentation on how to do segregation of garbage at source. While praising BMTGoa, a Nonprofit Public Charitable Trust and their initiative “Chalo Mega School Drive” she said she was fascinated with the sincere work which is being done for over a year with the help of student volunteers from Chowgule College as a community outreach program in various high schools in Goa. Hence she thought of engaging student volunteers for creating awareness in all the wards in association with the council members. These students were shown power point presentation along with the councilors and the administrative staff.
Twenty-five volunteers of NCC and NSS under the leadership of Keval Naik, student of second year BA from Chowgule College attended the entire training program.