MAPUSA
The proposal of the water resources department (WRD) to lay a pipeline carrying water from the Tillari canal was unanimously rejected by the villagers of Assagao on Sunday.
The locals also expressed their disgust over the poor condition of roads and the long pending demand of completing the unfinished work of the football ground in the village.
Majority of the villagers objected to the WRD proposal as the pipeline was running through the fields and affecting the houses of the people in the village.
“The WRD plan may resolve the water problem affecting the village but the damage the pipeline will cause to houses and the fields is tremendous. The cost-benefit ratio of the proposal does not augur well in the long run,” said Kedar Kamat, a local and demanded that the plan be dropped.
Another resident of the village, Ranjit Parsekar informed that as it is the farmers were facing a lot of problems and the pipeline running through their fields will further damage their prospects.
The WRD had submitted a proposal to the Assagao panchayat of laying a pipeline through the village some months back. The 4.8 km long pipeline would be routed from Anjuna and run through Assagao and finally end up at the foot of the DMC College.
The proposal was kept in abeyance due to the panchayat elections and was taken up in the first gram sabha after the new panchayat body took over.
The villagers also said that the WRD proposal was not very clear whether they wanted to bring a pipeline or construct a canal through the village. Although, initially, there was a little hesitancy on the project the locals finally decided to scrap the proposal altogether.
The villagers advised the panchayat to explore the idea of repairing a channel of water originating from a spring near the DMC college and which runs through three vaddos in the village.
“There is water in the channel throughout the year. If the channel can be desilted and repaired the clean water can be used to supply drinking water to the village,” a local said.
Assagao Sarpanch, Hanumant Naik acknowledged the sentiments of the villagers and assured to forward the resolution objecting to the pipeline to the WRD.
Incidentally, the people who would get affected on account of the pipeline were present in large numbers at the gram sabha.
The villagers also discussed the issue of scarcity of water, bad roads and the incomplete football ground in the village.
All the village committees including the Bio-diversity Managing Committee were constituted at the gram sabha meeting.
