Canacona: Scarcity of drinking water, a problem that was restricted to a few of Canacona’s rural areas earlier, has spread to several other parts of the taluka over the last year, resulting in a drought-like situation.
The villages of Cotigao and Gaondongorim are among the worst hit.
Vegetable plantations in these areas have taken a beating too, with many fields having virtually dried up.
Taramati Gaonkar, a resident of Bhupar, Gaondongorim, says one member of her family is solely entrusted with drawing the household’s daily drinking water supply, an arduous task given that it takes over an hour to merely fill a single pail from a little pool in the ground and then walk home with it.
I own the ward’s only well, which is being dug deeper and deeper if only to obtain a feet or two of water," he says.
For instance, a ward that is situated in proximity to the dam gets supply only once or twice a week, leaving its 18 households with no option but to walk 700 metres to a natural source to fetch water.
"It is amply clear that the department lacks the will to supply water to the people, as it ought to have laid a new pipeline well before the summer," social worker Janardhan Bhandari, says.
Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes admits that a water crisis has hit the taluka, adding that his office receives at least 60 to 70 phone calls a day from citizens complaining about the problem.
"It is very difficult to solve the issue this year itself, as a whole new supply network has to be laid and motors have to be changed.
I, however, assure that the people of Canacona will not face any shortage of water next year," Fernandes says.