MARGAO: Against the backdrop of a water shortage in Quepem, Salcete and Mormugao talukas, the situation has taken a turn for the worst in Verna, Cansaulim and Gogol, where contaminated water has started flowing from the taps.
What made matters worse was these same taps had run dry over the last few days, and when the residents heard the sound of water trickling from the taps, they heaved a sigh of relief, imagining that their water woes had come to an end only to be treated with water as brown as mud.
“I was at the church. Our maid got so excited to see taps running after a long time that she immediately put the pump on to fill both the overhead tanks. By the time I got back, both tanks were full of contaminated water. It ruined my day and I am still trying to get manpower to clean up my tanks,” said Jesuin George Fernandes from Cansaulim, who had to shell out Rs 1,500 to clean the tanks.
Not only does Jesuin have to pay for the piped water supplied by the government, the Cansaulim resident still does not have clean water, which he could have used to clean the tanks, if not for regular use.
There have been similar complaints from residents, like Ravi Carvalho from Verna and Fatima Viegas from Gogol.
Neighbouring places like Majorda, Benaulim, Loutolim, Curtorim, and Fatorda have been facing an acute water shortage over the last few weeks, and residents have made several trips to the PWD offices in protest. Advocate Radharao Gracias from Majorda pointed out that their taps are still running dry and they had to no water supply over the weekend.
Over the last month, the water treatment plant at Selaulim has been facing technical issues due to high manganese content, which has delayed the filtration process and led to restricted water supply to the three talukas. However, PWD sources said the manganese was filtered and that the contaminated water could possibly be the result of old pipes. They also claimed that the matter could be isolated, i.e. due to problems in those particular residential areas.
