Quepem (Goa): Gripped by an acute drinking water crisis in the vilage, villagers of Dhangarwadi of Paddi – Barcem panchayat, on Wednesday, led by AAP Goa staged a protest at the PWD office (Div XX) at Quepem demanding immediate supply of water through tankers. The villagers, mostly women, marched to the office of the PWD armed with empty water pots and bottles filled with polluted water.
AAP delegation comprising of Patricia Fernandes, Neville Mascarenhas & Rupesh Velip led by party spokesperson Rajshree Nagarsekar met the assistant engineer A. Karmakar of work div xx along with villagers & explained the extent of the problem.
Villagers, threathened not to leave the office till their demands of supply to drinking water through tankers was not met. Accordingly, the PWD official later gave an assurance that water will be supplied through tankers in two days time, to mitigate the acute shortage of water for drinking purpose. AE Karmakar also assured the protesting villagers that the work of setting up of filters & flushing of the existing pipe would be carried out on priority. The protesting villagers earlier raised slogans against the authroities and the MLA demanding that the authorities and the MLA Babu Kavlekar who they should visit their village to guage their living condition.
Villagers informed that a bore well drilled some 40 years ago and a water tank of 1000 lts capacity is the only facility for drinking water. Village head Dhulo Dhangar explained, “For the past couple of years we have started facing enormous hardship for drinking water as the water pumped is muddy. This is basically due to the corroded pump that has outlived its utility and rust flows through it thereby rendering the water pumped unsafe for human consumption. The tank is also damaged and is not sufficient to feed the growing popualtion.  We had complained the concerned department in vain. Now AAP has supported us to organise this protest & the assurance to look into the matter immediately has been given,” he said adding that more villagers will be forced to stage a dharna at the office if the authorities fail to provide water in two days time.
“We are ready to be arrested as atleast we will get safe drinking water in the lock up. Or else we will die of diseases consuming the polluted water we are forced to drink now,” said Raagi Yamkar, a village youth.
Earlier, the villagers also petitioned the PWD’s roads section for lack of road to the village. AAP submitted a petition signed by villagers to the deputy collector’s office in Quepem demanding basic facilities like roads, toilet & sanitation besides drinking water.

The AAP Petition reads….
“In one of our village dialogues, we have come across this village called Dhangarwadi in Vargathi Moll of Paddi-Barcem panchayat of the Quepem taluka. Close to 300 people living here are living a very challenging life along with their livestock due to lack of road, acute shortage of drinking water and no toilet or sanitation facilities. A bore well drilled some 40 years ago is the lone source of water supply to the villagers who have to scramble for just a few litres of water on a daily basis. In the past couple of years, the water that the villagers get is muddy red in colour and is not potable or fit for drinking purpose or any other human use. The pump installed over 4 decades ago is completely coroded and rust flows alongwith the water thereby rendering the water unsafe for human consumption. The community living here is predominantly the dhangars, who depend on cattle and goats for their living. With no water, they cannot venture into farming and every year they suffer a loss due to the death of cattle and goats on account of acute shortage of water especially in the months of March to mid June.  
The lone 5 km strech mud road connecting the village from the closest tarred road is built by the villagers themselves and maintained by them due to their need. In the rains, the state of the villagers is miserable as the mud road becomes innaccessible and inundated with water thereby hampering commuting of children to school, villagers to work or to seek health care.  Should there be an emergency, ambulances or water tankers refuse to come to the village as the road is not motorable. The women, children, sick and elderly live under constant threat to their lives under such circumstances.
While official apathy is a common complaint, insensitivity of authorities & the elected representatives is the main cause for the neglect of this village. The villagers have made umpteem number of representations to the elected MLA and other authorities but to no avail. 
Therefore AAP Quepem unit have facilitated the villagers to fight for their right and therefore have staged this protest here today demanding pressing of tanker service to mitigate the acute drinking water problem. We also demand that immediate steps be initiated to construct the road to the village failing which the villagers will have no other alternative but to intensify their protest and any loss to life and property would be the responsibility of the government.
We request your good office to take immediate action to first provide them drinking water by tankers before taking concrete steps to provide them piped water supply besides constructing the 5 km road.”

Ends….