Civic workers alone cannot counter public littering: Mayor

Panaji: Mayor of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Rohit Monserrate has urged residents and tourists to stop dumping waste along the city’s streets, warning that civic workers alone cannot counter the burden of public littering.

Speaking after participating in a cleanliness drive alongside minister of state for railways V Somanna at Taleigao, Monserrate said the CCP deploys 200–300 sanitation staff daily, beginning at 6am, and that the city is typically cleaned by 10am. He identified around eight major black spots that require regular attention.

“The city does not dirty itself and CCP workers cannot be held responsible for public littering. It takes 500 people to clean a city but one person to dirty it,” he said, appealing to all residents to reduce littering. “It is a huge burden.”

Monserrate said that keeping Panaji clean required collective responsibility from both the civic authorities, residents and visitors. “All of us are residents of Panaji and Taleigao. The less litter, the better,” he said, adding that the corporation remained open to public feedback on civic issues.