This is in reference to your article “Goa Records Driest Monsoon”. The report is alarming and should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. We all know the root causes - unchecked deforestation, concretization, hill cutting and over-exploitation of groundwater. We do not want to end up like Bengaluru, facing a severe water crisis in our own Goa. After this report and alert the situation has to be handled by the Government on time and on a priority basis. The Government needs to plan and publish a concrete plan on how it will prevent a water crisis in the coming summer: Spread public awareness on water wastage and conservation; Regulate mega projects with swimming pools and water-intensive construction activities accordingly; Implement short-term measures for water management along with long-term solutions like saving our forests and protecting water catchment areas. We (citizens) hope to live a life worth the taxes we pay and not be under constant stress. It is already either food, air and water pollution, bad infrastructure and now we may be staring at a water crisis in summer.
ALWYN FERNANDES, Benaulim
