TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Even four days after the water pipeline was left damaged near the pick-up stand junction on Friday last while trying to clear a drain choked with sewage, complaints are still pouring from residents that the tap water has the odour of sewage.
As panic has set in since Sunday evening, at least, 2-3 housing societies have emptied their water sumps as they found the water smelling of sewage. The PWD has also supplied water to a housing society via a tanker as a precautionary measure.
In another development, some parts of Gandhi market, Alankar building locality and Pajifond area have not received water supply since the last three days. The PWD authorities tried to find out the blockages, if any, at the junctions point, but in vain. The PWD has now decided to open the junction roads to find out whether the points are blocked with plastic waste.
PWD officials suspect that small amount of sewage water might have seeped inside the water pipeline after it sustained damage when an earth moving machinery was at work to clear the storm water drain of sewage waste.
However, in a new twist to the controversy over the use of an earth moving machine to dig up the road near the pick up stand, both the Margao Municipal Council and the PWD, Division VI have on Monday denied that they had requisitioned the earth moving machinery to excavate the road. This has brought to the fore the question as to who is responsible for excavating the road without the permission of the District Collector, MMC and the PWD. What’s interesting to note is the inaction on the part of the MMC, Collector or the PWD to lodge a formal police complaint if none of the agencies were involved in the road excavation.
BJP leader Sharmad Raiturcar, who visited the site along with MMC Chairperson Gonzaco Rebello, said the authorities should find out the person responsible for excavating the road.
