Treated water in 8 days: Rane to Shelpe-Bhudruk residents

Panaji: Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Sunday told the Shelpe-Bhudruk villagers, affected by the diarrhoeal infection Shigellosis, that treated water supply to the hamlet would begin before November 1. Rane also said that he will get toilets for every house in the hamlet sanctioned through the public works department (PWD) at the earliest.

"As assured by the assistant engineer, piped water will reach the village by November 1, and on November 3 I will personally visit the village to see that the deadline has been met. Every villager will be provided with safe water and every house will get a toilet in the village," Rane said.

The remote hamlet of Shelpe-Bhudruk, in Nagargao village panchayat, in Sattari taluka, hit the headlines last week after a large majority of its residents had to be hospitalised due to Shigellosis.

The second visit of Rane, who is also the local MLA, comes after the STOI report on Sunday highlighted how the villagers lacked access to treated drinking water.

The report also focussed on how a majority of the 60 houses in Shelpe-Bhudruk lacked a toilet.

Rane, on his second visit, had brought along assistant engineer Eknath Paste and made Paste commit a date to the villagers by which time treated water would be provided to Shelpe-Bhudruk. The engineer asked for eight days' time to supply treated water to the hamlet.

"The state government has earmarked Rs 60 crore to augment water supply in Sattari taluka, which will resolve all the water needs of the taluka soon," Rane told the villagers.

Rane was also accompanied by director of health services Sanjeev Dalvi.

"From the health point of view, we have enough medicine at sub-centre Nagargao and doctor will visit twice a week there. We have also asked specialised doctors to conduct OPD at CHC Valpoi so that our people won't have to go to GMC for every small thing," Rane said.