ARAMBOL: Despite a satisfactory monsoon this season, taps are running dry for the locals of Khalchawada at Arambol. With Ganesh Chaturthi barely a week away, people have been worried about the frequent water shortage and locals have requested the local MLA Jeet Arolkar to look into the matter as PWD (water) engineers and officials are giving misleading information.
“Locals had decided to call for ‘Arambol bandh’ around two years ago as water scarcity had become too intense to ignore. The then MLA Dayanad Sopte directed engineers to repair the pipeline. However, the issue has continued to persist,” said former panch Dilip Vast.
Locals have also accused officials of mismanaging the distribution of water to their area. “The number of establishments and buildings in the village have increased and probably that’s one of the reasons behind shortage of water. Bigger pipeline is required as old one will simply not be enough to suffice current population. Some traders are also stealing the water by installing booster pumps,” said one of the locals.
The panchayat had passed resolution for the installation of new pipeline several times but haven’t received cooperation from authorities concerned.
