Editor, Goemkarponn
AERIAL VIEW
Seriously, Goa does have Har Ghar Jal, but there is no sign of Jal in many of those, especially in the rural areas of Sanguem, Sattari, Quepem, Canacona etc.
The situation is even worse in tourist places like Calangute, Anjuna, Reis Magos and Pernem.
In Calangute, which is called a world-famous tourist destination, people get water after every three days, which means they get water only 10 times a month.
In Anjuna, people have gheraoed the PWD officials several times, and despite assurances, there has been no progress.
In Sanguem, just a few kilometres away from the Selaulim Dam, the village ladies walk for miles to fetch water for drinking. Isn’t the Sawant government not aware of such a reality?
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Being a small State in the Country, Goa has made a commendable achievement of “Har Ghar jal”, for which the State was praised by the Prime Minister of India and also given a certification.
Indeed it is a great achievement, and every Goan must be proud of this achievement.
However, though Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant went gung ho about the achievement, every Goan suspected this as a tongue-in-the-cheek statement. It seemed like a statement to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Undoubtedly, Goa has a far better water supply in the State, barring a few isolated places where the water supply has still not been reached, or the water supply is just for a few minutes. But still, there is far to be achieved when we talk of Har Ghar jal.
Seriously, Goa does have Har Ghar Jal, but there is no sign of Jal in many of those, especially in the rural areas of Sanguem, Sattari, Quepem, Canacona etc.
The situation is even worse in tourist places like Calangute, Anjuna, Reis Magos and Pernem.
In Calangute, which is called a world-famous tourist destination, people get water after every three days, which means they get water only 10 times a month.
In Anjuna, people have gheraoed the PWD officials several times, and despite assurances, there has been no progress.
In Sanguem, just a few kilometres away from the Selaulim Dam, the village ladies walk for miles to fetch water for drinking. Isn’t the Sawant government not aware of such a reality?
So what do we achieve when we call ourselves 100 per cent be it Har Ghar Jal and 100 p.c? Open Defecation Free?
A frank opinion and observation are that Goa is neither 100 p.c ODF nor 100 p.c Har Ghar Chal.
Yes, we are doing good, and if the government works on this quest, Goa can soon achieve the targets. But celebrating a victory before the game is over is stupidity and can be termed a State of hallucination.
We are in a state of denial; we do not want to accept that we have bad roads, bad power supply, bad water supply, bad toilet facilities and bad transport facilities.
By simply celebrating the 100 p.c Har Ghar Jal and ODF, the politicians have become the subject of memes on social media and nothing else.
Instead, what the State could have celebrated was the QR code bill payment of the PWD water department. That infact is a big respite for the public, who stood in long queues to pay the bills during office hours. With a just swipe on smartphones, we can pay the bills now.
Such initiatives taken by Minister Nilesh Cabral, both in Electricity and PWD, are commendable. Digitisation of all Government services is the way forward. Cabral has understood this, and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, who also holds the IT portfolio, is working on these lines by making all tourism services online.
These are the things which really matter as the services have become effortless now. Instead of achieving fake achievements, we need to focus on how to make things simpler, which will be appreciated by people.
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