A file photo of a team from the Directorate of Health Services collecting water samples from storage tanks in Agonda and Khola in August.
CANACONA
Two dams in Canacona are filled with water and yet, residents in the taluka have been facing either a chronic shortage of water supply or else, water supplied to them is unfit for consumption.
This is the plight of residents in Canacona taluka. While residents in parts of Canacona municipality receive water for 2-3 hours a day, residents in Loliem, Poinguinim, Cotigao, Gaondongrem, Agonda and Khola receive water for a few hours every alternate day.
AGONDA AND KHOLA
The situation is particularly grim in the villages of Agonda and Khola, where residents have recently supplied water which did not conform to prescribed standards and was not recommended for human consumption as it had been contaminated with coliform organisms.
It may be recalled residents of Agonda and Khola had raised a hue and cry after Congress leader Janardhan Bhandari had exposed the poor conditions of storage tanks, rusted and non-working water filters, and supply of contaminated and unfiltered water to villagers.
Following his police complaint, Canacona police had asked the Canacona health officer in June to inspect water from various water purifications/storage plants.
The Environmental & Pollution Control Wing of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) then conducted a chemical analysis and bacteriological examinations revealed the water did not conform to standards prescribed for drinking and it was found contaminated by coliform organisms, and could not be recommended for human consumption.
Incidentally, the PWD then claimed to have cleaned the tanks and made a few water filters operational. Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar then gave a clean chit to the PWD and told the media that a few anomalies had been rectified and that, people in Agonda and Canacona were being provided with treated and safe water supply.
However, locals continued to complain of turbid and impure water, prompting Bhandari and some locals to demand a second test of water samples from the same water storage sites.
A team from the DHS then collected water samples from storage storage tanks in Agonda and Khola in August.
Though reports are officially awaited, it is learnt through sources that all four water samples have tested positive for bacteriological examination and are reportedly found contaminated by coliform organisms. However, the chemical analysis of the water is reportedly found satisfactory and conforms to limits prescribed for drinking purposes.
GAONDONGREM
Gaondongrem Sarpanch Dhillon Dessai bitterly complained that inadequate water supply has been a perennial problem in the village.
“Where is the water? Gaondongrim people don’t get proper water at all,” was the sharp reaction of a visibly unhappy Dessai, when asked if the village has issues over water supply,
“During the monsoon, though the entire Gaondongrim village gets daily water supply, it is released for only about an hour. In the coming months, this one-hour water supply will also be limited to only thrice a week.”
Dessai informed Gaondongrem gets water from the Chapoli Dam and added that water supply is limited.
“Even though the Gaunem Dam in our village, which is now completed for over two years, PWD is still unable to fully utilise water from the dam either for irrigation or drinking purposes.”
“There is inadequate water supply throughout the year, and the government's tall claims of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ is a farce. Residents are fed-up and abuse lower-rung PWD staff like valve operators or panchayat members, including me, as we are accountable to the public.”
Dessai accused the PWD and the Canacona MLA of not doing enough to improve the water supply in Gaondongrem.
“Our pleas for better water supply have fallen on deaf ears and neither the PWD nor Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar have taken the responsibility to improve water supply in Gaondongrim village. The MLA has left people in Gaondongrim suffering from inadequate water supply just to portray the Gaondongrem panchayat in a bad light,” alleged the sarpanch.
