the goan I network
PANAJI
Even as the water crisis in Tiswadi and Ponda entered the seventh day and one of the two pipelines which had broken down at Curti-Khandepar was restored at 7 am on Wednesday, there was no clarity as to when supply will be restored particularly to the capital city of Panjim.
Areas closer to the Opa-Khandepar source, however had begun receiving direct supply by late Wednesday evening itself but top officials of the Public Works Department were unable to give a timeline exactly when supply in Panjim will resume.Officials on the ground however said, that although valves at the Curti site were being opened one revolution at a time since 3.00 pm on Wednesday after testing of the repaired portion of the pipeline, water began trickling into the reservoir tanks at Altinho, which supplies to Panjim city, Taleigao, Caranzalem and Dona Paula areas, only at 8.30 pm.
“The Altinho reservoir tanks normally take up to twelve hours to fill up to a level where supply to the city can be restored,” one engineer who did not want to be identified because he is not authorised to speak, told The Goan.
The mad scramble for Panaji’s residents for water through tankers and other sources, meanwhile, continued for the seventh day on Wednesday.
What made their pain even more hurtful was that there was no firm explanation from the government or PWD authorities as to when supply will be restored in the city, if at all, even as news and pictures of work to restore the 900 mm dia pipeline being completed at 7 am kept circulating on social media platforms.
In other areas of Tiswadi and Ponda, the two talukas affected by the Independence Day break down of the two pipelines at Curti, meanwhile, direct supply got restored late on Wednesday evening itself. Citizens in Santa Cruz, Merces, Old Goa and the affected areas of Ponda taluka confirmed running water in the taps at their homes.
