Team Herald
BICHOLIM: A pipeline meant to supply water to farmers of Surla from a nearby mining pit, was burnt down by anonymous miscreants at Amefal, Katre-Surla, on Wednesday, which is likely to cause severe hardships the farmers.
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With an aim to resolve the water shortage problem in Surla, the local MLA and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant had arranged for supply of water from a mining pit. However; as the project neared its completion, it was found that unidentified persons had set fire on to the pipelines.
As per the sources, the pipeline’s cost is around Rs 70 lakh and the damage has caused substantial loss to the administration. The panchayat members along with the villagers from Surla gathered at the spot to take stock of the situation and discussed the future implications.
Sarpanch Vishranti Surlakar, deputy sarpanch Bhola Khodginkar, panch Subhash Fondekar, Bablo Natekar, Onkar Kelkar, Surla Society’s chairman Uday Natekar and others were present at the site.
“There are some people who oppose social projects for the sake of opposing. Whoever has done this has caused grave damage to the farmers. Whoever has done it must come forward, or the panchayat will take a strict action. We will also not hold back if the person is from another village,” said sarpanch Vishranti Surlakar, adding that the government officials need to take stern action against those involved.
“The farmers from Surla have been witnessing happy days since the last few years, courtesy to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. The government officials too have been cooperative and this project has been undertaken since 2012. The project is almost complete and it is unfortunate that some are trying to hurt farmers and villagers,” said Bablo Natekar.
