the goan I network
CANACONA
The scorching heat has not only dried up water bodies in Canacona taluka, it has also evaporated hopes of many locals in relying on PWD to provide adequate water supply in many parts of the taluka.
The situation is such that many locals in remote areas have been forced to return to age-old practices by digging up holes in search of water.
According to reports, people in Gaondongrim, Cotigao and some remote areas of Poinguinim and Shristhal villages have found it hard to get water for domestic as well as for drinking purposes.
With the situation turning from bad to worse in many parts of Canacona taluka since the last fortnight, residents living in remote villages have fallen back on traditional methods of drawing water for their daily needs.
Many of these areas have limited availability of public tap water facilities, which are connected to locally available water bodies or from bore wells, which begin to dry up in the beginning of April.
Authorities supply water through water tanks, but locals find the tanker supply unreliable and the water supplied cannot be used for drinking and cooking purposes.
Left with no option, many people have begun to dig holes in the dried river basins and draw up whatever water is available in the ground. Some of the taluka’s main rivers at Cotigao, Poinguinim and Gaondongrim have already dried up, while the bandharas have also run out of water.
Sources told The Goan that many households in remote areas of Canacona taluka are known to have been totally dependent on such traditional methods of drawing portable water to survive during the summer months.
