The water woes of the people from Tiswadi and Ponda may finally be over this weekend. Water is trickling in and the situation is likely to normalize once water in pumped through the second pipeline. People have been inflicted pain and agony ever since the Curti-Khandepar pipelines caved in. The very basic of day-to-day living has been disconnected, bringing on them untold misery. The eight dry days have scarred the lives of people very badly and the false alerts of water resumption only added insult to injury.
But while life limps back to normalcy and people try to get on with their lives, the job of fixing responsibility must start. There has to be a detailed investigation done and action needs to be taken. This is a major issue to be brushed aside lightly.
The questions that need to be asked are: Why did the contractor not shift the pipelines while undertaking road-widening work, despite being asked to do so? Why did the government machinery not raise an alarm and why did it ignore this serious violation? Why have PWD authorities not followed up, knowing well that damage to these pipes could have disastrous consequences? How did the recently-built retaining wall collapse so easily? Why was the work not verified by authorities, knowing well that there is loose soil? This only indicates that there were no quality-checks. If engineers knew about the cracks on the pipelines, why were these ignored?
Work at the Curti-Khandepar site was undoubtedly undertaken on a war footing with workers toiling through the late hours of the night. But has the government only made a make-shift arrangement? This could mean a huge waste of public money.
The Cujira pipeline rupture has again exposed the fact that all underground pipelines are left at the mercy of a major contractor who is allocated the highway works. At Cujira, the contractor has buried the pipeline with mud and erected a flyover. Workers had to dig 10 metres through the mud to reach the pipeline to undertake repair works. Where were the PWD engineers and officials when mud was being dumped without shifting the pipelines? Why did nobody bother to raise an alarm?
Superimpose these gross violations against those of the common Goemkar who faces the wrath and harassment of government machinery at the slightest of infringements. There cannot be a different set of rules for the high and mighty. It’s a shame that the highway contractor is defying the entire government machinery on the pretext of his Central connections and it is a bigger shame that even Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has failed to set right a wrong.
The free tanker water distribution, assurances and site visits are not going to dilute the fury and frustration of the people. People of Goa need foolproof systems in place. And they need their daily water. The chief minister must take stock and fix accountability. Don’t let the common man suffer because of carelessness of a few high and mighty. It’s time heads roll.
