MAPUSA
Blaming the “airlock” in pipelines for the water woes in Bardez, PWD Executive Engineer, Nitin Neurekar has said the department would attend to the problem after the current festival season.
The EE also refuted allegations that PWD water was being diverted to hoteliers at the cost of the common man.
“We are not getting the water from the Assonora water treatment plant with full speed as we were getting before because of the airlock. Some air valves have been blocked due to the ongoing highway expansion work,” Neurekar said.
“We cannot replace the air valves without shutting the plant. From January 15, 2021, we will take a shutdown of the plant and replace the air valves. People will have to have some patience till then,” he added.
The Executive Engineer was discussing with the Assagao panchayat members at the behest of the Ports Minister Michael Lobo over water problems faced by the village.
According to Neurekar, Siolim constituency was affected the most due to the air valve problem compared to other places in Bardez.
The PWD official admitted there were some lacunae due to distribution system on account of the bad attitude of some linesmen.
“I agree there is some distribution problem and that is basically because of lethargy among a few of the linesmen. But 95 per cent of my staff is hardworking,” he said.
He also allayed fears over the operation of the electric pumps and the availability of water at the Assonora water treatment plant.
“All the pumps are in working condition in Assonora. In fact, there are standby pumps in case of emergency. We also have enough water supply. We are getting water from Tillari and if need be, also from Amthane. We can even pump water from the Par River,” he said.
Neurekar disclosed that there were enough overhead tanks but three in Mapusa were not functioning due to minor leakage problems.
“We have called some agencies which undertake such repair work to get it sorted out,” he said.
He said the allegation of PWD water being diverted to hoteliers was not correct and some people were simply creating false stories.
“Everyone says the department supplies uninterrupted water to hoteliers. It is not at all true,” he said.
He further said most water tankers “ private and government “ were of the same colour and often people were under the impression that the PWD supplies water tankers to private parties first.
“My tankers are sent on government duty. If any tankers go out people say it’s gone for some private party or it’s sent to a hotel. It is not correct. If anyone comes across any wrongdoing they can bring it to our notice. We will take stern action,” he said.
