The Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the 'Har Ghar Jal' utsav ( every necessity is converted to a virtue and utsav here ) and congratulated Goa on becoming the first certified ( by whom?) state with 100% piped water supply ; his proclamation needs to be taken with a pinch of salt . He of course utilized the occasion to lambast the earlier governments for not doing anything for the past 70 years and conveniently glossed over the fact that many villages in Goa, especially those in the hinterlands and inside sanctuaries have been waiting for piped water for the past several years. On the very same day the PWD minister stated that 38% of pumped water is lost due to leakages and illegal tapping from rusted and old pipelines. As per government records, Goa is facing a shortage of 85 million litres of treated water per day which is a humungous volume. Conflicting statements from the state and Centre make it amply clear there is no saturation coverage of piped water in the state. Patting ourselves on the back for dubious (non) achievements and propaganda is our national pastime, consider also the fact that earlier Goa had declared itself open defecation free (ODF) when it is common knowledge that there are thousands of homes in the state without a functional toilet. Lies and ' alternate facts' is the new truth for the present dispensation, anything they say has to be taken with bagfuls of salt.
