PANAJI
With no tap water and wells/ bore-wells running dry due to scorching mercury, several parts of Taleigao are facing the worst-ever water crisis for almost 40 days following E.coli contamination in the water pipeline network.
PWD, which has initiated a process to replace the water pipeline for close to 500 connections, is hopeful of releasing water to some parts of Taleigao in the coming two-three days.
After initially disconnecting water supply to the Vodlem Bhat and Borbhat wards “ the areas where the water contamination was reported “ for more than a month now, the residents of areas like Cardoz Wada, Shankarwadi, Durbhat, Durgawadi and Porshebhat have been without a supply of potable water for nearly 10-12 days.
While all this time, the residents with bore-wells/ wells were managing the situation, with water levels dropping and, and in some cases, wells running dry, the residents found themselves helpless with limited tanker water supply too. With growing demand, PWD is unable to supply the required number of tankers to the consumers, thus forcing some housing societies and individuals to hire private tankers.
People are buying drinking water from retailers to meet their daily requirements. “We don’t know how long the situation will continue. We are currently hiring private tankers as PWD is not responding to our calls,” Anirudh, a resident, said.
Another local, Arvind Bhobe, said, “We are without water for nearly 10-12 days. How are we supposed to manage? Tankers are also not ready to come due to a lack of water. We are currently surviving on water bottles.”
The lab tests of water samples from Vodlem Bhat and Borbhat have confirmed the presence of E.coli bacteria in the potable water, while test samples from surrounding places are awaited.
PWD Executive Engineer (Water), Soma Naik, said that every effort is being made to ensure that the citizens don’t suffer. “We are making every effort to send water tankers to the affected areas. However, due to the high number of consumers, there might be some delays. Our engineers are actively coordinating and assisting those in need,” he said.
Naik said that in the next two-three days, water will be released to at least half of the affected residents. “We have already completed the replacement of some pipelines and work is progressing rapidly to replace the remaining ones,” he added.
PWD officials said there are no leaks in the main water pipeline and that the contamination, they believe, stems from private service connections.
