Goa government PWD water department has initiated installation of new parallel pipeline from Salaulim dam to Quepem to solve the water woes of Quepem.
Work of this project has already started under JAICA and laying of the line is going on with the government announcing the Rs 29 crore cost for the project.
Government officials and local MLA leader of opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar is very optimistic about this project. In fact, Kavlekar claims that the project will solve the water problem of his constituency.
Under this project, a direct pipeline will be initiated to draw water from Salaulim water treatment plant and subsequently construct water reservoir and tanks to provide drinking water to locals.
However, there is already one existing pipe line, but as the population has doubled during the past several years, the water consumption demand is increased due to more houses seeking connections.
Kavlekar thus initiated a parallel pipe line to the one currently existing and claims that there is water scarcity at many places in rural villages. “There is less water in places like Ambaulim, Fatorpa, Balli, Morpilla, Barcem, Gokurdem, Kami Bagh, Paddi, Gauliwada and other places and this parallel pipeline will solve the water woes of rural villages,” he said.
From the past several years some of the villages are depending on spring and river water, but the government is keen on providing twenty four hours drinking water to city people. It’s strange but true that some of the villages had not seen the government water for ages, he added.
“People depend on spring water and river water, but the situation in summer becomes worse, when natural water resources dry up. Unfortunately, they don’t even get tanker water,” he said.
There is a place at Paddi Village called Gauliwada were they have not seen pipeline water. The Dhangar families are entirely depending on river water. The whole family, including children and women get up early in the morning and run to fetch the water from river. Sometimes they are forced to fetch water in coconut shell as there is less water. The Dhangars have to struggle for every drop of water, Kavlekar said.
They had made many representations to government to solve their water woes but nobody is interested in this village of poor people.
Bombo Bankar, a local Dhangar narrated the story of water scarcity in his village. “We and our animals fight to survive in the summer due to less water. We even get water from private tankers by paying huge amount of money. Some years ago the government had affected bore wells but the bore wells are not in proper condition now and nobody is bothered to repair them. We are forced to live without sufficient water,” he said.
Locals want to know from Kavlekar and government if this Rs 29 crore project be able to provide water to the locals of Gauliwada and other remote villages or will this project only benefit city people.
Will government include these remote villages in this project as beneficiaries?
Sadly, even after 58 years of liberation, villages are still thirsty. Will this ambitious project bring them the long-awaited good news? The leader of opposition will have to answer these questions .
