Team Herald
MAPUSA: Frustrated over irregular water supply, Assagao villagers on Tuesday threatened to boycott the upcoming State Assembly elections if the government fails to come out with a permanent solution to their water woes.
The villagers of Badem, Assagao hit the streets with their vessels to highlight their problems with regards to irregular water supply they have been facing for the past several years.
The locals demanded that the BJP government should first resolve the problem of irregular water in the village and then prepare for the Assembly elections. They threatened to boycott the upcoming Assembly elections if government fails to come out with a permanent solution with regards to the irregular water supply problem.
Claiming that the PWD pipeline is old, damaged and needs to be replaced, the villagers said they feel as if they are living in a desert as there is no water even for consumption.
“Earlier, the water problem existed but the underground cabling work has worsened the situation. We feel like we have reached Rajasthan since there is no water even for consumption”, Nikita Naik, a local complained.
People informed that for the past six months, this has become a major problem and due to this, people especially the women are forced to stay wake late night to fill water.
“We have highlighted this issue several times. We launched several morchas on the PWD office and even met the local MLA. However, all our efforts went in vain”, Parvati Govekar, another villager claimed.
Ward member Shirsagar Naik said, “We contacted the concern department regarding this issue. From taluka level to the higher officials including the minister but nobody paid heed to our grievances. Till the government does not come up with permanent solution to this issue, we have decided to boycott the upcoming Assembly elections”, Naik warned.
