Tivim locals urge panchayat to act on highway littering

Panaji: The Tivim gram sabha on Sunday discussed garbage being tossed along the roadside by passers-by using the Madel-Tivim highway, and requested the panchayat to take immediate action against defaulters loitering at the place.A resident said, “The highway looks dirty and has an unbearable stench because of the littering caused by the passers-by using the highway. It is not hygienic and is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This problem is widespread across the state, and fewer measures are being taken to address it. We don’t want the highways to be in this state.”Secretary of Tivim panchayat Bheldas Karapurkar said, “We heard the residents’ concerns and told them that this comes under the purview of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). They look after the infrastructural integrity as well as picking up the garbage and litter. The NHAI workers clean the littered areas. We will write to NHAI to take a closer look at this situation.”