MAPUSA
Coming under intense public pressure due to acute water scarcity, Anjuna panchayat in the gram sabha was forced to pass a resolution to write to the PWD requesting it to provide one water connection to a multi-storeyed project in the village.
The decision was taken on Sunday after several villagers took the Anjuna Sarpanch Savio Almeida to task for failing to resolve the water shortage problem in the village.
“Despite facing severe water shortage the panchayat has been issuing licences to projects right, left and centre. Time and again we have been raising the issue of water shortage but all our appeals fall on deaf ears. The panchayat body appears to take the villagers for granted,” said Sagar Bhosle, a local from Anjuna.
“We can’t take this anymore. The panchayat should stop issuing NOCs to big projects until proper infrastructure for water distribution is put in place,” he added.
The panchayat had some time back passed a resolution not to issue water connection to mega projects until the water problem in the village was resolved.
Another villager, Ramesh Naik said that Anjuna was facing a huge water crisis while the sarpanch and the panchayat members were doing very little to alleviate the problem of the locals.
“The panchayat is not serious at all to resolve the water issue in the village. We have been raising the water problem at every gram sabha,” Naik said.
A defensive Anjuna Sarpanch, Savio Almeida informed the gram sabha that he has been constantly meeting the PWD assistant engineer (AE), junior engineer (JE) and even the executive engineer (EE) to apprise them about the water scarcity.
“We are not getting adequate help from the PWD. Our area is looked after by a temporary JE who does not even take our calls. Several letters have also been written to the department,” Almeida said.
He also informed that some years ago the panchayat had ensured that several PWD valves in the village were repaired so that the issue could be resolved.
However, the gram sabha members were not convinced and slammed the sarpanch for trying to pass the buck to save his face.
Recently, the residents of Anjuna protested in front of the PWD officials in Mapusa.
The protesters had warned the PWD engineers that they would agitate with even a bigger crowd if the problem was not resolved within a week.
