Garbage dumpers elude night patrols, MMC seeks CCTV deterrence

Margao: Following the failure of its night surveillance exercise to eliminate garbage dumping at black spots, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) has decided to invest in CCTV surveillance to tackle the persistent menace.The municipality has identified 25 strategic locations where garbage is being dumped surreptitiously and will install CCTV cameras at these sites.The MMC’s initial approach for addressing black spots involved forming five specialised vigilance teams to patrol these areas during night hours. Each team comprised a supervisor, municipal market inspector, sanitation inspector, municipal engineer, and two municipal workers.These teams were deployed to curb the dumping of waste on open roadside spaces, under cover of darkness.However, despite catching many offenders red-handed during these operations, the night patrols failed to provide a lasting solution to the garbage dumping crisis. The council even considered extending surveillance hours to include early morning patrols, as some offenders began adjusting their dumping times to avoid detection.

However, the limitations of human surveillance became apparent, leading to the decision to embrace technology-based monitoring.In a recent meeting involving police and municipal officials, the committee identified more than two dozen black spots across the city. While the initial plan called for installing 16 cameras at strategic locations, the scope has now been expanded to 25 CCTV cameras following a renewed assessment of problem areas.The implementation will begin with 10 locations in the first phase, with five cameras each planned for Margao and Fatorda, sources in the MMC said. Based on the success of this initial experiment, the municipality plans to install additional cameras at the remaining black spots.The IT department has been tasked with preparing estimated costs for installing all 25 CCTV cameras at strategic locations throughout the city. The municipality has already invited quotations for supplying the surveillance equipment.