PONDA: Mounting public anger over persistent water supply problems in Ponda spilled over to the Public Works Department (PWD) office at Daag, where residents of Tollem-Durgabhat gheraoed Assistant Engineer Kashinath Saraf, even as the department continued to grapple with a surge of complaints over low water pressure across the constituency. Residents said Tollem-Durgabhat has been facing an unresolved water crisis for the past six months despite re-peated assurances from the department. “If there is no water during the heavy rains, how will we get water in the summer?” they asked, saying families were forced to stay awake at night to fill utensils whenever water became available, disrupting their daily routine, work schedules and affecting their health. They added that although their village bears the name Tollem (lake), residents were struggling for water.
Ponda Municipal Council councillor Vishwanath Dalvi accompanied the residents and questioned officials over the prolonged delay in resolving the issue. The protest comes amid growing frustration across Ponda, with the cramped PWD Water Supply office witnessing heavy footfall. from residents seeking redressal for low-pressure
supply. With the small offices unable to accommodate visitors, many complainants have had to meet officials outside. Employees said the ageing offices also leak dur-ing the monsoon, prompting residents to urge the depart-ment to construct a larger office building on its available land.
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An elderly woman said she was unable to bathe even on the eve of Ashadi Ekadashi because her taps had run dry.
The issue has also triggered political sparring. Congress accused the BJP government of failing to fulfil its promise of 24×7 water supply, while Dalvi blamed PWD officials for not resolving the crisis despite directions from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Congress leader Rajesh Verenkar urged Dalvi to resign from the BJP and jointly protest for the people of Ponda Dalvi, meanwhile, questioned how new construction permissions were being granted despite in-adequate water supply and urged the PWD to immediately prepare estimates for additional storage tanks and other infrastructure.
Responding to the protest, Assistant Engineer Kashinath Saraf said he was “very concerned” about the residents’ plight and that the issue had already been discussed with councillors. He said the department was making con-tinuous efforts to resolve the problem as demand had risen significantly, adding that a water storage tank has been proposed for Durgabhat and a booster pump will be in-stalled to improve supply to affected households. He assured residents that the department was working to resolve the issue at the earliest.
