I wish to caution all Goans about the water scarcity being faced in Goa, particularly in villages of Canacona – Polem, Loliem, Shelim, Mashem. These villages receive plenty of rainfall and yet suffer for want of potable water supply from the government department. People from these villages are tired of complaining as nothing seems to have improved over the years. Every time one hears that the tendering process for laying a pipeline is on and things will improve after the new pipeline is laid and connected, till then we have to face scarcity of water.
This is not acceptable. We have the right to receive potable water and we must get it, because there is plenty of water being received through adequate rainfall in these areas. Due to lack of ideas at the panchayat level and in identifying areas for water catchment, water harvesting, etc, all the rainwater, more than 90 percent of it, is allowed to flow back to sea. This is one of the reasons for the scarcity of water.
Secondly, farmers from Polem do not attempt to aggressively cultivate their paddy fields nor go in for alternative cultivation like sugarcane, etc, because of water scarcity, as a result, almost all cultivable land is left uncultivated. This does not match with the present national agriculture policies publicized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sarpanchas of these areas need to seek help from the zonal agriculture officers to visit these villages and test the soil and encourage farmers to carry out cultivation of other seeds if not paddy. Surely, the MLA who is the Agriculture minister will be of help.
Accompanied by a few Polem residents, I met with the Ramesh Tawadkar with a proposal to conceive a project to have a separate water supply arrangement in line with proposals put forward by the Prime Minister. Under various schemes that Modi announced with an appeal to all MLAs and panchayats to immediately survey, identify areas with help of local people and conceive projects of water harvesting, water catchment whereby ground water level could be increased and water supply could be increased. The rainfall in Polem, Loliem, Shelim, is pretty adequate and there should not be any question of water scarcity if water catchment, water harvesting projects are undertaken. There is a need of planning and executing of these water supply projects under various schemes. Tawardkar was patient enough to hear us and appreciated our views and ideas regarding providing separate water supply arrangement for Polem by implementing a project of a mini water catchment dam in the area suggested by the residents and assured to do the needful.
All villages should identify water catchment areas and have water harvesting projects implemented under various schemes declared by the Center through their panchayats.
