MAPUSA: Frustrated with the lack of water supply to their homes due to the ongoing work of laying underground electricity cables in Mapusa, residents of the town have threatened to take out a protest march to the house of local MLA Joshua D’Souza.
Locals complained that they have not received water for the past 10 days and said they are tired of visiting the offices of the PWD and the Electricity Department with their grievances.
“Wherever the work of underground cabling is going on, the people in that area are facing the issue of water shortage. When we confronted the PWD, they blamed the Electricity Department and vice versa, so where does the buck stop? If this was a matter of two or three days, then it would be acceptable and we can adjust. Not supplying water for so many days is inhumane. If the authorities are not ready to take action, we will be forced to take law into our own hands,” said a group of local residents.
“After a few days, the laying of the sewerage pipeline will commence and the situation will get even worse. There is no coordination or communication between different government Departments,” they added. “The officials are only playing the blame game. Before commencing such works, the MLA should have had a joint meeting with the Departments and should have deputed his staffers to ensure that the people do not suffer, rather than making them run from pillar to post for basic amenities like water. We have elected them so that they can provide us these services, without forcing us to visit the offices of every department to resolve our problems,” they said.
