Calangute: Acute water scarcity has hit the residents of the north Goa coastal belt with people complaining that their taps have run completely.
The influx of tourists and mushrooming of new hotels has only added to the water woes.
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The state government needs to take urgent steps to improve the water supply position because there are constant complaints from people who are facing a major shortage of water, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said on Wednesday.
“The PWD, WRD, all the concerned authorities are simply passing the buck. When I ask the PWD engineer, he says there’s no water coming in the pipeline. The WRD officials say they’re not getting raw water because the Tillari channel has breached. This is a big problem, and the government is duty bound to find a solution for this,” he said on the sidelines of a function in Candolim.
Pointing out that a large number of new hotels and flats are being constructed, he said the water problem will only get worse if steps are not taken immediately.
“In the next one year, 10,000 hotel rooms will be opened, plus flats and other constructions. Where is the water for all this? There is not enough water for the existing consumers. The government is responsible to give water. We need to come out with a solution and do a long-term plan to get more water,” he said.
He said he has been told that the Porvorim water treatment plant will not get water for 20 days due to a breach in the Tillari channel. “A new water treatment plant is coming up at Pilerne, and another plant will be built at Anjuna, but where will the raw water come from? The Tillari channel keeps getting breached. If a new channel has to be built, the planning has to start now. We have to work on a long-term plan,” he said.
On Wednesday Lobo launched work on a Rs 35-lakh WRD project to repair and expand a culvert and retaining wall at Orda, Candolim.
