TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Even as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has promised clean and round-the-clock water supply to South Goa by December 2014, questions are raised whether the PWD complies with the mandatory guideline of cleaning up the overhead water tanks and reservoirs annually.
This question has assumed significance with residents in certain areas such as the government Junta quarters complaining of muddy water running through taps at certain hours of the day.
While PWD officials cleaned up the 6,700 cubic meter main reservoir of the Selaulim treatment plant supplying water to South Goa last week, cleaning work of many a water tank and reservoir distributing water supply to the city here is yet to be taken up till date.
Senior PWD officials, however, said that work on cleaning up the overhead tanks and reservoirs in the city, numbering around eight, are normally carried out after the cleaning of the Selaulim reservoir. They said that cleaning work will begin within a fortnight.
Says Executive Engineer Selaulim, S R Paranjapee: “The muddy water allegedly flowing in some taps is not from the Selaulim plant. We cannot be blamed for the situation. Our plant at Selaulim was shut down last week to clean up the 6,700 cu mts reservoir as per PWD guidelines.”
He pointed out that the Selaulim reservoir could not be cleaned during the months of April-May because of the water problems faced in South Goa.
When contacted, superintending Engineer, Dhond maintained that the muddy water flowing in the taps could be the result of non-cleaning of the reservoirs. Executive Engineer, Phatarpekar, however, asserted that most of the overhead tanks and reservoirs are cleaned up by the department every year, adding that the exercise will begin within a fortnight.
Incidentally, residents of government Junta quarters complained that muddy water finds its way in the taps, especially during morning hours. But PWD officials said the maintenance and operation of the overhead tank supplying water to Junta quarters rests with Div VIII, which is supposed to clean up the overhead tank every year. Ward Councillor Raju Naik pointed out that he had been after the PWD to get the overhead tank cleaned before the monsoons.
