the goan I network
VALPOI
Villagers from Shelpe-Nagargao in Sattari taluka have suspected that sudden outbreak of sickness in the village since the last 15 days could be due to contamination of water of the two tributaries in the village.
According to sources, there are over 60 houses with a population of 400 in Shelpe and about 90 per cent of the houses do not have toilet facility, forcing people defecate in the open, which may have had bad impact on the health of the people.
It may be recalled that for the last 15 days, villagers are suffering from sickness like stomachache and the health and PWD (water supply) officials are trying to find out the exact cause of the outbreak of sickness. Water samples from the borewell and two tributaries were collected and sent for testing.
The villagers have suspected that the sudden outbreak of sickness in Shelpe is due to contamination of water of the tributaries which is used by the villagers.
It is learnt that the villagers are forced to defecate in the open as about 90 per cent of the houses in the village do not have toilet facility.
Speaking to The Goan, a villager, Vithal Gawas said the State and Central governments are spending crores of rupees to provide toilet facility, but people from the village are deprived of such facility. "We have been demanding this facility for Nagargao Panchayat for the last many years, but nothing happened," he added.
Another villager, Ram Shelapkar said people defecate in the open due to lack of toilet facility in the village. "About 10 per cent of the houses have constructed their own toilets without the help of government scheme. I suspect there is water contamination due to open defecation."
When contacted, Valpoi PWD (Water Supply) AE Eknath Paste admitted that the village lacks toilets. "This office had submitted a proposal to provide free toilets in Nagargao area two years ago, but we are still waiting for sanction from higher authorities."
