MARGAO: More people have now decided to speak out on disproportionate and unaffordable water bills delivered to them lately.
Through the Margao Page, Herald raised the issue of exorbitant water bills received by people from Margao. Following that, a person from the coastal Salcete through an email conveyed that he received a water bill of Rs 31932, which after lot of hard work is expected to be reduced by the department. Mahesh Nayak of the Jai Damodar Association has written to the PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar questioning him how individual consumers are billed such an exorbitant amount. Mahesh has threatened protests if there is no solution soon.
In an email, Aires Pinto said, “Thanks for highlighting the issue of water bills. I have been collecting data and waiting to expose the heartless and careless attitude of the authorities dealing with water bills which I have become a victim of.”
“AE V G Naik, Works Division IX (PHE), PWD Fatorda-Goa, whom I met in his office, in the presence of technical assistant Nikhil Karki, has given me hope that my water bill, which was Rs 31932, is likely to be now approx 5000. Till today it has taken me almost 325 days which has led me to the extent of dragging the matter to the first Appellate authority, as the dept was making it very difficult to furnish information to me,” Pinto wrote as.
“I have documents with me where-in I have exposed that they are billing people with improper calculations not one or two years but I have been over billed to the tune of 19 years,” Pinto said.
Sriram Raiturkar, an RTI activist who has been fighting the issue of deficiency of water to areas of Margao, said, “I have my self got a water bill of Rs 7000. Earlier, they said that the JICA meters are faulty, but we still have the old meter and if even they are giving wrong data then this is something we refuse to believe.”
