Sacrifice In Vain TNN | Apr 2, 2015, 02.00 AM IST Times Panchanama: Curdi (Vaddem) -Sanguem
Isidore Domnick Mendes For 3,500 residents of Colony 1, Colony 2 and Colony 3, Vaddem is their adopted land where they were rehabilitated 30 years ago. The reason being; their entire village of Curdi was submerged under water (see pic) for the Selaulim dam project, which, today, caters to the drinking water and irrigation needs of South Goa. The village panchayat's name was given a prefix; the name of the submerged village, Curdi, and is now called Curdi (Vaddem). This village shares its borders with the Selaulim dam and the two villages of Bhati and Netravali situated in Sanguem taluka. The village lies in the midst of the Western Ghats and is crisscrossed by two rivers, Guleli and Valshe. After the evacuation from their original village, 650 families became homeless. Around 350 families were relocated in the three colonies of Vaddem, while 200 families were transferred to the three colonies of Valkinim, which comes under Bhati panchayat. It is believed that 100 families have still not been rehabilitated. Almost all of these families, who have relocated to Vaddem, feel their sacrifice of giving up their homes has been in vain. Till date, Vaddem has not received a single drop of water from the Selaulim dam. Even the water used for drinking and irrigation is pumped through a borewell (see inset pic). Water supply gets seriously affected whenever there is a power breakdown due to technical reasons or when trees are uprooted or branches fall on power cables. "It is really sad that, till date, we, the relocated people of Curdi village, are not the beneficiaries of drinking water from the Selaulim dam. Even the supply of water pumped from the borewell gets hit whenever there is power failure especially during the rainy season," states Gajanan Kurdikar of Colony No 1, who is also a social worker and a member of the rehabilitation committee of the Selaulim irrigation project. He is also working to get the rest of the 100 families rehabilitated. Concurs Dylan Cardozo, resident of Colony No. 1, "Despite sacrificing our ancestral land to make way for Goa's largest dam, we face problems when it comes to getting drinking water and supply for irrigation." Villagers complain of careless staff who hardly pay any heed to the wastage which occurs due to the leakage of water. In addition, even water tanks are few and lie in a rundown state. For instance, out of two water tanks for Gauli vaddo and Colony No. 1, only one tank is operational, while a single water tank caters to Colony No. 2 and Gaunkar vaddo. "Since water supply is directly dependent on the water pumped from the borewell, it is important to enforce accountability in terms of proper regulated duty hours of all the personnel involved with water supply. Especially, the ones directly connected with pumping and releasing of water," says Alex Rodrigues of Colony No 1. He personally feels displacement from Curdi was a big disappointment, but, resettlement in Vaddem has also been a boon for the locals. "At Curdi, most of the locals were 'mundkars' (tenants). The shifting to Vaddem got us many things like 10,000 sqm of land to cultivate sugarcane, 400 sqm to construct our own dwelling etc," he added. Villagers decry that nothing is being done to take care of the 30-year-old water pipelines which are mostly lying in a dilapidated state. "Replacement with new water pipelines is the need of the hour because these existing conduits have got corroded. Hardly any maintenance to prevent the rampant leakages of water has ever taken place," says Inacio Rodrigues of Colony No.1. Residents feel authorities, till date, have not given a serious thought to alleviate the water woes of Vaddem. "Successive governments promised to improve the supply of both drinking water as well as the supply of water to agricultural lands, which are mostly sugarcane fields. But, these promises are yet to see the light of day. Our village holds the number one position for cultivation of sugarcane in Goa, but, whenever there is a power problem, the supply of water completely stops to the sugarcane fields," says Salvador Pereira of Colony No 1. Agrees Joaquina Rodrigues of Colony No. 1, "We cannot enjoy monsoons as it turns into a time of frequent power cuts which leads to complete stoppage of water supply. Almost all our activities come to a standstill. I feel sad that the government has reneged in its promise given to my family of providing free water to our household.Our own well was converted into a community well as its water is pumped and supplied through taps in the surrounding areas of the village. Except for the first year, when we got water supply free of charge, we are being continuously charged for water usage although the well is located in our agricultural field," she added. The villagers feel efforts by the present MLA will solve the water crisis permanently. "Despite being given step motherly treatment for water supply since 1984, when we were relocated from Curdi to Vaddem, we are confident that the efforts of the present MLA will yield fruit," says Bayo Bhandari, a social worker and president of Colony No. 2. "The panchayat is aware of the problems faced by the residents of Vaddem with regard to supply of drinking water and supply for irrigation. We have full hope that our present MLA will resolve the issue. The JICA project, through which we will get direct water supply from the Selaulim dam, is scheduled to start in two years," says Sharmila Bhandari, sarpanch of Curdi (Vaddem). Says Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Desai, "Over the past three years, I have been in constant touch with my government and especially the PWD minister to work on a lasting solution to the water woes engulfing the areas of Sanguem constituency in general and Curdi (Vaddem) in particular. During the past nine sessions of the assembly, I raised the water supply issue of all my constituents. I have also been in regular touch with the water resources department on the issue of rampant water leakage which occurs due to worn out pipes in the village. There is no doubt that for the past 30 years, people of this scenic village have been let down by the authorities connected with many infrastructure issues including that of water supply." Top View The JICA project, through which we will get direct water supply from the Selaulim dam, is scheduled to start in two years Sharmila Bhandari, sarpanch I have been in constant touch with my government and especially the PWD minister to work on a lasting solution to the water woes Subhash Phal Desai, MLA People's take Despite sacrificing our ancestral land to make way for Goa's largest dam, we face problems when it comes to getting drinking water and supply for irrigation Dylan Cardozo, resident Successive governments promised to improve the supply of both drinking water as well as the supply of water to agricultural lands. These promises are yet to be fulfilled. Salvador Pereira, resident Despite being given stepmotherly treatment for water supply since 1984, we are confident that the efforts of the present MLA will yield fruit. Bayo Bhandari, resident Even the supply of water pumped from the borewell gets hit whenever there is power failure especially during the rainy season Gajanand Kurdikar, resident Problem Problem Mobile Connectivity In many places of the village, residents have no access to mobile phone services. "As there is no mobile tower, villagers find it very difficult to use mobile phones for communication at many places because the signal is very weak," says Dylan Cardozo of Colony No.1. No Bal Bhavan There are hardly any opportunities existing for the children in the village to express their ideas through varied avenues of dance, musical instruments, drama, paintings etc. "There is a dire need for the construction of a Bal Bhavan as it would go a long way to improve the imagination of the children and hone the artistic talents of young ones," says Sagun Gaonkar of Colony No. 1. Unemployment Problem Apart from the sugarcane plantations, Vaddem's villagers hardly have any other suitable avenue for livelihood. "Almost 40 percent of our residents are working in government departments on contract basis. Despite working for around six years, their jobs have not yet been confirmed," says Gajanan Kurdikar of Colony No. 1. Trivia This village, before getting submerged for the Selaulim dam project, was home to famous religious places including the Ramnath devasthan. Old timers, from across the religious spectrum, recount the important role played in the field of education and social development by the Sacred Heart of Jesus school which was run by the Pilar Fathers. The school was submerged under water for the Selaulim dam project. In the resettled village, the new parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was inaugurated in 2002, but, the school was run by the government. The submerged Curdi village was also home to famous singers of India. The legendary Hindustani classical music vocalist, late Mogubai Kurdikar, belonging to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana and her daughter Kishori Amonkar, distinguished soloist in the Indian classical genres of 'khyal', 'thumri' and 'bhajan' have their roots in the village.
