NT Reporter
Mapusa
Frustrated over the prolonged water crisis, residents of Zorwaddo in Vagator on Friday staged a morcha at the PWD office in Mapusa, demanding an immediate and lasting solution to their long-pending problem.
Led by Pujan Malvankar, joint secretary of Aam Aadmi Party Goa, the aggrieved residents met assistant engineer John Pais at the office to press their demand.
The locals said they have been grappling with severe water scarcity for the past two to three years, which has forced them to either depend on costly private tankers or fetch water from their relatives’ homes.
They alleged that the root cause of the crisis is gross mismanagement in water distribution.
According to them, water is being diverted to hotels and villas through oversized pipelines while local households are left to suffer. They further claimed that despite their taps running dry, they continue to receive bills from the department.
A local woman lamented, “We have been facing this water problem for a long time. Even during the rains, our taps remain dry. PWD tankers are not supplying water to all households, and as a result we are compelled to purchase water at a high rate. At present, we are surviving by storing and using rainwater.”
Malvankar demanded a thorough inquiry into unauthorised water connections allegedly granted to hotels, and also called for immediate restoration of regular supply to households.
“The people of Zorwaddo are running out of patience, and if no action is taken swiftly, we will be left with no option but to intensify our protest together with the residents until justice is delivered,” he said.
In response, Pais informed that a new water pipeline has been proposed from the main tank at Anjuna to Zorwaddo as a permanent solution. As a temporary measure, he assured that arrangements would be made to supply water using alternative distribution lines and additional tankers.
