Margao: The Goa Waste Management Corporation on Saturday started removing hazardous waste from the Cuncolim industrial estate, beginning a phased operation to clear over 50,000 tonnes of legacy material accumulated over nearly two decades.The waste — left behind by Sunrise Zinc Ltd, which ceased operations in 2007 following high court directions — will be transported to the facility at Pissurlem for processing and disposal. The exercise, costing Rs 13 crore, will be carried out in two stages: before and after the monsoon.Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the exercise would begin from May 1 during his visit to Cuncolim last month, drawing a parallel with the clearing of legacy municipal solid waste at Sonsoddo. “It’s a legacy waste that I am cleaning up, as I did at Sonsoddo,” Sawant said at the time.Cuncolim MLA and leader of the opposition Yuri Alemao, who has been pressing for the clearance through assembly sessions, called Saturday’s start an emotional milestone. “People have suffered health issues due to the pollution caused by this waste. This was the black spot,” Alemao said.He said the operation was only a first step and would not allow any new fish meal plants or other red-category industries to set up in the Cuncolim estate. “Pollution industries are a curse to Cuncolim. This industrial estate is not benefiting the people of Cuncolim. We will never allow fish meal plants in Cuncolim,” he said.The CM also assured that no red-category industry would be permitted at the Cuncolim industrial estate.
