Several measures being undertaken to improve situation
VASCO
Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar on Sunday said that the ongoing water supply issues in Vasco are expected to ease by the end of April, with several short-term and long-term measures being undertaken to improve the situation across the city and surrounding areas.
Addressing the media, Salkar said the issue was taken up on the first day of the Assembly session, following which Water Resources Minister Subhash Faldessai convened a meeting with senior department officials to review the situation and chalk out a plan to address the shortages.
Salkar said that the department has already initiated several corrective steps, including installation of new booster pumps and replacement of ageing pipelines that have been causing frequent disruptions.
“We raised the issue of water shortage on the first day of the Assembly session. Following this, the minister held a meeting with senior officials of the department and reviewed the measures being taken. Based on the progress of these works, we are confident that most of the issues will be resolved by April end or by mid-May,” Salkar said.
Clarifying the situation, the Vasco MLA said the problem was not due to a complete lack of water but rather uneven distribution and localised technical issues.
“It is not that there is no water at all. In some areas the supply is less, while in others the problem is due to localised issues. Many of the pipelines in the network are old and corroded and this affects the supply. The process of replacing these pipelines has already begun,” he said.
Salkar also announced that a new reservoir project in Verna will provide long-term relief to the region.
“We already have a water plant of 10,000 MBR capacity in Verna. A new reservoir with a capacity of 20,000 MBR is being constructed alongside it, which will be dedicated to Vasco and nearby areas. This will significantly improve the supply situation,” he said.
He added that an old pipeline connecting Margao and Verna, which had developed multiple leakages and caused disruptions in supply, is also being replaced.
The MLA further said that the installation of booster pumps in underground reservoirs will help push water to overhead tanks, improving pressure and distribution.
“We have two underground reservoirs in Vasco along with two overhead tanks. New pumps are being installed to push water from the underground reservoirs to the overhead tanks. Once the water reaches the overhead tanks, it can be distributed smoothly to surrounding areas with better pressure,” he said.
Salkar said a trial run will be conducted once the new pumps are installed, adding that the government is closely monitoring the situation.
He also pointed out that some pipelines were damaged during underground cabling works, which exposed the poor condition of the existing network.
“During underground cabling works we realised that many pipelines were old and corroded. This led to the decision to replace them with new pipelines in several areas. Once the pipeline works are completed, road hotmixing will also be carried out,” he said.
Salkar assured that resolving water supply issues in Vasco remains a top priority for the government.
