SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
Team Herald
CALANGUTE: In a bid to resolve the acute water shortage being faced by the residents of the Calangute-Candolim coastal stretch, the government has sanctioned a 30 MLD independent raw water pumping and treatment plant for the tourist hub.
“The Calangute-Candolim area is urbanising very rapidly. We're going to tap Tillari water and treat it at the plant at Pilerne Industrial Estate. Then, the water will be supplied to this entire area through gravity,” said Water Resources Department (WRD) Chief Engineer Pramod Badami during a site inspection visit to Calangute on Wednesday.
He said work on the water treatment plant at Pilerne, located atop a hillock, started last year. “The treatment plant is almost complete and now we're starting on the pump house,” Badami said.
Land for the pump house has been identified at Boa Viagem at Calangute alongside Chogm road, and is to be acquired from the Calangute comunidade, he said. “We had a meeting with the comunidade today. They had some issues, which we will settle. We have to do this in the larger interest because 50 years down the line, with the rate of growth here, water supply will be a big problem,” Badami said.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo was also present, along with the Calangute panchayat members. “We've decided that this should be built on a war-footing. Calangute-Candolim is facing an acute shortage of water. Some areas are only getting water every third day. Our people should get uninterrupted water supply,” said Lobo.
