Team Herald
SANGUEM: Literally sore over the drinking water supply problems even during monsoon, the villagers residing at Wadem Colony No 2 have demanded that the government come out with a permanent solution.
The problem of drinking water supply cropped up eight days back when the water pump installed at the well in the village to pump drinking water for onward supply to the villagers broke down and the department failed in getting it repaired on time.
With no water supply, the villagers had harrowing times. While the department made some provisions to supply water to the villagers through water tankers, the supply was allegedly not enough and many villagers had to rely on rain water for drinking purpose, informed Sudhakar Perni, a villager.
Perni informed that the water supply problem in the village is a regular one since their rehabilitation 40 years ago. Every successive government has been making tall claims to solve the water woes but to no avail. Even the assurances given by the local MLAs for round the clock water supply to the village have failed, claimed another villager.
The villagers informed that the pump was repaired and put back in place on Saturday afternoon and the water supply was restored. However, there is no guarantee as to how many days the pump will function, Perni wondered. There is no permanent respite from the drinking water woes for the villagers residing at Wadem Colony No 1 for the time being and the Government needs to come out with a permanent solution to this long pending demand of the villagers, Perni added.
Another villager Joseph Cardozo blamed the successive governments for the drinking water problems faced by the villagers at Wadem Colony No 1 and 2. Despite the villagers residing at Wadem Colony No 1 and 2 having sacrificed their ancestral land to pave way for the construction of the Selaulim Dam many a problems faced by the villagers are remain unsolved. In April and May, the villagers spend sleepless nights thinking over the water supply problems. This year was the worst, claimed Cardozo with many farmers even approaching the Office of the Deputy Collector, Sanguem complaining about loss to sugarcane cultivation for want of water supply.
Villagers informed that the drinking water supply in the village is also hard hit whenever there is a power supply problem. The moment the power fails, the pumps stops functioning resulting in no drinking water supply in the village. The Government should work on a permanent water supply scheme in the village, claimed the affected villagers.
