If the avowed objective of the proposal to cap the Sonsodo garbage dumpyard with tarpaulin was to arrest seepage of rain water into the waste, tonnes of waste continues to be exposed to rains at the site till date. For, the Margao Civic body is still in the process of opening up the tender and issuing work orders to cap the waste with tarpaulin sheets, notwithstanding that the 35,000 tonnes of waste is already soaked with rain water. It is learnt that the delay was caused due to lack of interest shown by JCB machine operators by staying away from the tender. This forced the Civic body to look out for alternatives and the Municipality is now contemplating to get the badly required machinery through quotations. The only good news for the Civic body is that the Hitachi machine has started operations at the garbage site, Chief Officer, Y B Tawde told Herald this evening. He said the site could be capped with tarpaulin only after the machine is deployed to create a garbage heap. Replying to a question, he said the capping work would cost the Civic body around Rs 7.5 lakh. The work involves capping the site with tarpaulin and to dig up a soakpit for drainage of the leachet before the same is released in the storm water drain. Incidentally, the proposal to build a soakpit at the dumpyard has been hanging fire since the last two years, with the Civic body only promising to act in the matter.