Thursday, October 05, 2006 Irisan dumpsite spills over
THE City Government suffered another setback in the planned closure of a portion of the Irisan dumpsite after heavy rains saturated the mountain of garbage, overflowed and went over the retaining wall and reached Kilometers 5 and 6 in the neighboring town of Tuba, Benguet.
The technical working group (TWG) already requested the City Council committee on public works to endorse the construction of another retaining wall at the west side of the dumpsite. Funds for the purpose would come from the P18 million allotted for the erection of a controlled dump facility.
Aside from a retaining wall, the TWG and the City Engineers Office (CEO) also proposed the benching of garbage to prevent its collapse. This suggestion, however, was later on put aside because the soil is too soft and might not be able to withstand the weight of the heavy equipment.
"A disaster might happen," warned Councilor Antonio Tabora Jr., chairman of the committee.
He added that the best and only option is to construct a retaining wall at the west side. This would also be used as dumping area for the next two years as the eastern side being used as dumping area is now overloaded with garbage.
In the meantime, Tabora said the existing canals have to be cleared and drainage pipes have to be in place to drain water.
The pre-qualification, bids and awards committee (Pbac), meanwhile, already held a pre-procurement conference among interested bidders last September 29.
An eligibility screening is underway before the actual bidding could proceed, said Pbac chairperson Leticia Clemente, who is also the city budget officer. However, the terms of reference still has to be refined.
"This is a very delicate matter, only experts can join in the bidding," Clemente stressed.
The bulldozer that the City Government bought four months ago is reportedly now at the Manila port area and was supposed to be delivered to Baguio but was stalled because of the typhoon, said City Administrator Peter Fianza.
Meanwhile, the towns of Sablan and Itogon have been identified as possible sites for the city's sanitary landfill. However, TWG action officer Nazita Bañez said meetings with officials of the two municipalities have to be done to determine the social acceptability of the proposed sanitary landfill. (RO)
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