The complex which house the sewerage treatment plant at Camarkazan in Mapusa.
MAPUSA
Residents of Camarkazan and Acoi on Tuesday said Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza should do a reality check on depletion of well water vis-Ã -vis the trial run of the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) and hold a detailed discussion with the engineers in the matter before shooting his mouth off.
The locals also expressed concern about the effectiveness of the sewerage project, especially as leakage in chambers could result in polluting the ground water including the wells.
“The Mapusa MLA has got it all wrong. The well water in our area suddenly went down as soon as the trial run of the STP was taken up. It’s a very serious matter and such casual and irresponsible statements by elected representatives are unwarranted,” said Mohan Shettye, a resident of Camarkazan.
The locals feared that the faulty sewerage project could spell doom to the ground water, putting the lives of people of Mapusa at grave risk.
John Lobo of Camarkazan informed that local residents had expressed concern about the project since the village was a low-lying area and had high water table. He said the residents have been holding meetings with officials of JICA about the leakage of sewerage chambers since 2016.
“We found that ground water was seeping into the sewerage chambers. If the STP is started, then sewage will enter into our wells and contaminate our well water leading to an epidemic. We had then discussed the issue with JICA officials and they admitted that ground water was seeping into the chambers,” Lobo said.
He further informed that in the meeting with the PWD engineers and the local MLA Carlos Ferreira, the engineers admitted that the ground water was indeed sucked during the trial run of the STP.
“I think the Mapusa MLA should do a ground check and verify his facts before coming out with statements on sensitive issues. We are worried about the efficacy of the sewerage project and more importantly about our well water,” he said.
Another resident of Camarkazan, Stanley Braganca, informed that his well water went down at least by five-and-half metres after the trial run of the STP started and the engineers have conceded the fact.
“The fact is that our wells went dry as soon as the trial run of the STP began. The Mapusa MLA must be having his own political reasons to make a contrary statement,” Braganca said.
Wells could get polluted if sewage seeps into chambers: Aldona MLA
MAPUSA
Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira said the PWD engineers admitted that they were pumping out the water for the purpose of ascertaining the leakages in the sewerage chambers but were non-committal on what caused the water in wells to dry up.
Ferreira also said that leakages of the chambers was a matter of serious concern as sewerage could seep into the ground water and could pollute wells and cause sickness.
“They need to draw out the water because the concrete sewerage chambers had to be dried out of the water so as to ascertain where leakages are taking place. The road being at the low level then the water table level, it is but natural when water is drawn out the wells would dry. I think the residents of the area were not wrong in their apprehensions,” Ferreira said.
He said the Assistant Engineer confirmed that they had drawn the water to enable them to carry out the inspection of the chambers to ascertain the leakages.
“It is not only about the water being drawn but our apprehension is if these leakages take place think of the sewerage getting into the ground water. That could cause sickness, pollution of wells, epidemic and poisoning,” he said.
