Team Herald
PANJIM: To add insult to injury, the residents of Vhodlem Bhat, Taleigao, who have been receiving “sewage water”, have now been asked by the Public Works Department (PWD) to get the service connection pipeline replaced within seven days.
It is pertinent to note that PWD is yet to address the issue and has now sent notices to the consumers to get their connections replaced.
In a letter to the residents, the PWD has said, “It is noted that the service connection pipeline of your water meter is corroded and needs to be replaced immediately. You are directed to undertake the replacement of the service connection pipeline within seven days of intimation of this letter failing which, the same shall be undertaken by PWD and the cost incurred towards the same shall be recovered from you in 24 installments to avoid contamination of the main water supply pipeline through such corroded service connections.”
Reacting to the notices, Francis Coelho, a resident said, “People are not receiving proper water supply for the last 20 days. Earlier, the water they were getting was stinking. To address the issue, PWD dug up a long stretch of road in the area cutting water pipes at various locations.”
“Then the local MLA suggested that the entire line should be changed. Even after digging road at multiple locations the PWD has not been able to address the issue. Now, it has sent notices to the consumers to get the connections replaced,” he said.
Dattaprasad Naik, another resident, said, “As we did not wish to politicise the matter, we gave enough time to the PWD. Taleigao sewage scheme is designed in 2001 and started implementation in 2010. After 15 years and spending more than Rs 200 crore, only Shankarwadi area network of approximately 300 or 350 sewer connections have been commissioned. The STP was commissioned approximately a decade ago and only 10 ore 15 per cent capacity is utilised for treating sewage.”
He said a big threat is looming over on Taleigao population of 25,000 plus residents regarding contamination in drinking water and health hazards and water born diseases.
He said Panjim and Taleigao get water from Opa Water Treatment Plant, but as Taleigao is at far end of water distribution network from Opa Water Treatment Plant at Ponda, adequate water is not supplied to ever increasing residential population in Taleigao.
"Taleigao residents get 30 to 90 minutes of water supply on an average daily and depend on private water tankers for water. The design of sewer network is faulty and only 3.5 mts manholes are constructed. Therefore due to level differences 16 sewage pump stations are proposed,” he said.
He also said that quality of network and manholes constructed under Taleigao Sewage Scheme is questionable as PWD is unaware about the location of leakages in Shankarwadi.
“Sewage is oozing out from sewer network or manholes and getting mixed with water supply pipeline connected to individual houses or societies. This is a major health hazard for Taleigao residents, when 100 per cent sewer network of Taleigao is commissioned, he said.