In a move aimed at addressing North Goa's water needs, the Tillari Irrigation Project reopened its main gates on Wednesday morning, initiating the journey of water expected to reach Porvorim by Thursday. However, what was anticipated to bring relief to the residents has turned into a nightmare for the people of Siolim-Sodiem, as the leakage in water channels led to flooded roads and homes.
Unfortunately, the uncoordinated release resulted in water entering homes in Siolim-Sodiem, causing distress among the residents.
Peter D’Souza, a member of the Village Development Committee (VDC), expressed frustration, stating, "The water from the Tillari dam was released without the application of mind, as a result of which water has entered the homes in Siolim-Sodiem. The Sarpanch, the deputy Sarpanch and the panchayat secretary with the locals are doing ground work here and not an official from the Tillari irrigation has come.” He highlighted the absence of Tillari Irrigation officials at the site, with local authorities left to manage the situation.
Siolim Sarpanch Deepa Pednekar reported that despite informing Karaswada authorities in the morning, no one arrived to address the situation promptly. She emphasized the lack of proper communication regarding the timing of the water release. “Suddenly the water was released from the canal and only some were informed but they didn’t open certain channels. The water has damaged houses and electronics,” said Pednekar. She added that the canal is of no use to them as it had previously damaged fields.
Deputy Sarpanch Nilesh Vaigankar revealed that the village had faced a 15-day water shortage, and while water was finally released, the lack of coordination led to wastage for five hours. “It’s good this happened during the day, if this had to happen at night god knows what would happen. We informed the junior engineer but no one shut the valve and water went to waste for 5 hours,” he said.
Locals expressed their grievances, demanding compensation for losses incurred due to the unplanned water release. “As a biodiversity chairman, I’ve always been against this canal for destroying the fields and now it is destroying the fields and homes, we want the government to compensate for the damage,” said D’Souza.
Bernard Fernandes, a local resident, suffered a significant loss of nearly 5 lakhs as water entered his house, damaging furniture and machinery. He questioned, "I lost furniture and machinery, who is going to compensate me for that?"
The situation escalated to the point where people threatened to storm the office of the Water Resources Department (WRD), resulting in the closure of the valve.