Potable water shortage returned to haunt the government in the Legislative Assembly with members raising serious concerns about several areas going without water or managing with just a trickle. The water crisis has been at the heart of the State’s issues even though successive PWD ministers have promised better supply, with some even assuring a 24x7 water supply. The ball has now landed in the court of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who is also holding the PWD portfolio.
It is unfortunate that while Goa has experienced around 48 per cent excess rainfall till now, and while it is still pouring outside, villages like Calangute, Arpora, Nagoa, Parra, Canca, Taleigao, Panaji and Siolim are facing tough times in getting their daily water, let alone far-flung areas like Canacona. In fact, Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo mentioned on the Floor of the House that the village receives water for a few hours on alternate days. Members cutting across party lines pointed to the grim realities of water supply while poking holes into the much-publicised milestone of ‘Har Ghar Jal’.
On Wednesday, when the issue rocked the Legislative Assembly, Sawant pointed at the glaring loopholes in the supply chain and squarely blamed water thefts across the State. To a large extent, builders have been at the receiving end because their water consumption has been humongous. Sawant has reacted sharply by warning those indulging in water thefts and digging illegal borewells with an extended penalty of Rs 10 lakh.
The government’s move to provide 40 per cent free water to households remains the only positive in an otherwise grim water scenario across the State. The worrisome factor is that the water shortage issue continues to feature in the Legislative Assembly for the past two decades, with water supply receding way below the promised levels. Picture a situation that the Siolim MLA presented in the Legislative Assembly where in an alternate-day supply chain, a break in delivery means residences will have to go without water for three days.
With rivers in full spate due to the abundance of rainfall, it is obvious that the State suffers from distribution issues. While checking into leakages, wastages, water thefts and over-use, the PWD understands that it must focus on replacing pipelines. The question is, how long is this going to take? If we may recall, Sudin Dhavalikar, the former PWD minister spoke of the urgent replacement of pipelines in 2018. In 2024 we are still in the process of replacing pipelines.
Another former PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral may have been realistically close when he said a maximum of 4-hour supply is possible, not 24x7, but Goa faced a water crisis even then. The irony is that in current times, even at peak rainfall, a four-hour supply seems a distant reality. If we may recall, the Minister for Water Resources Subash Shirodkar had mentioned last year that a Rs 300 crore barrage was being constructed over the Chapora River at Bicholim which would be ready by December 2024 following which the State’s water shortage would be resolved.
Goa has been in the process of an infrastructural upgrade in the past few years, and Shirodkar has unveiled plans for various water treatment projects besides capacity enhancements of existing plants. The question is, with 'acche din' follow after the ‘feel-good’ talk of the Water Resources minister, or shall we continue to go in circles desperately trying to catch that last trickle of water before taps go dry again?
