Notices issued to Mandur locals for sewage in drains

Panaji: The PWD resumed the water supply to Mandur on Wednesday after a bacteriological analysis of some samples confirmed that the water was safe from coliform organisms. A tanker too supplied water to some residents.

The contamination of tap water due to the influx of drain water through a corroded pipeline was noticed on May 5. Though the PWD repaired the pipeline the next day, residents alleged that the water carried a smell, following which the pipeline was shut.

In a notice issued on Wednesday by the Corlim primary health centre under the Goa Public Health Act, 1985, residents were informed that the drains have become mosquito-breeding sites due to the release of “wastewater/sullage/sewage into the stormwater drains.”

The residents have been directed to abate the nuisance within a period of seven days.

One of these residents is Ramkrishna Kurtikar, the lone person to complain about the presence of worms in tap water.

Wastewater must be discharged into soak pits or septic tanks, residents were told.

Or they may face action, including the disconnection of water and electricity supply to their houses.

A site inspection of drains by health officials and Azossim-Mandur panchayat representatives on May 13 indicated the release of wastewater by residents.

The issue was discussed in a meeting on Tuesday, in which the PWD’s officials; the medical officer in charge of the Corlim health centre, Dr Kedar Raikar; St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar and others were present.

After residents voiced their grievances about the lack of space for soak pits in the congested area, the MLA had mooted a community facility as an alternative to prevent pollution in the drains. The island village around a hill has clusters of houses with little scope for any expansion