PWD, panchayat leave Taleigao with human waste in water pipes

PANAJI: Sometime last month, starting from Vodlembhat in Taleigao, the drains began to slowly fill up with raw sewage. The stinking open drains went unnoticed until the time residents raised alarm over the contamination of drinking water pipelines.When PWD and health officials reached the site to inspect it, human excreta was already found floating in the drains.Nearly 50 days later, drinking water supply remains disconnected for many residential units from Vodlembhat to Borbhat. The area, adjoining Panaji, remains parched, with PWD making rare rounds. While the Taleigao panchayat was caught napping while the drains filled with human waste, the entire machinery from the panchayat to the PWD and health officials have still not been able to find the source responsible for the contamination, over a month and a half later.The health department notices have failed to scare the violators into fixing their overflowing soakpits, holding hundreds of Taleigao residents to ransom as the work of laying water pipeline continues to be delayed due to the sewage surging as the pipelines are laid.Residents said that the panchayat needs to address the source of the issue, without which it will barely take any time before the contamination seeps into the water lines again.“The priority of the PWD and panchayat is to replace the pipeline, however, they haven’t addressed the issue of simultaneously cleaning up the soak pits. Vodlembhat’s septic waste is continuing to build up and ooze out of the ground. What will they do when the new water pipeline also gets corroded and contaminated? They should solve the root problem first,” said one resident.Affected locals are shelling out thousands on private tankers to meet their water needs, as the pipeline work shows no signs of completion.“In the 50 days that we’ve gone without water supply, not a single panch member nor PWD official has provided us with free water tankers. We are paying an average of Rs 3,000 per week to get tankers on our own,” said another Taleigao resident.Despite the difficulties being faced in laying the new pipeline due to the overflowing waste in the drains, the Taleigao panchayat refuses to take responsibility. The panchayat said it is the responsibility of individual house owners to clear their soakpits in time.“We do not have provisions to empty sewage tanks. Individual societies and private houses have to clean their own soakpits. In the areas that we have commissioned a sewage line, we have issued directions to building owners to take an NOC and connect to this sewage line which connects to a common sewer. Then they don’t need individual soakpits,” said panch member Agnelo da Cunha.There are no answers as to how no one failed to spot the human excreta overflowing from open drains, and no alarm was raised until the water pipeline got contaminated.“A joint inspection was carried out by the PWD, panchayat, and the health department. Show cause notices have been issued. However, it is difficult to identify the source as 450 flats are present in over two complexes from Vodlembhat, Cardoz Waddo and Borbhat. At one location, the excreta was seen coming up and pipeline work had to be abandoned. We are hoping to complete the work by Saturday, but that will depend on heat and other factors,” said a PWD official.The official claimed that the work of laying the new pipeline and restoring water to the affected areas was delayed due to heat, as all the work is being carried out manually, and because digging has to be carried out very carefully so as not to damage other underground lines like power cables, internet cables, etc.“We had issued show cause notices to six defaulters who were suspected of discharging waste in the open drain and they are complying. However, we still don’t know the source of the contamination. Individual people of Taleigao have to ensure their soakpits are not overflowing and leaking into the drain. The panchayat can clean the garbage at best, but people must ensure that their soakpits are clean,” said Dr Jude D’Sa, health officer.