Ratnagiri's new Panval dam is full, but 1,300 m of missing pipeline keeps water from the city

Ratnagiri city faces a serious water shortage every year. Now another example of the municipal council's working has come to light, leaving residents astonished: the dam is next door, yet the city's throat is dry.

The new Panval dam, built at a cost of crores of rupees to quench the city's thirst, is complete and has stored plenty of water. Yet the water cannot reach the city because just 1,300 metres of pipe have not been joined.

The city's entire water supply currently depends on the Shil dam. Large quantities of water have to be pumped from it every day, so the council is paying an electricity bill of lakhs of rupees every month from its funds. The Panval dam, meanwhile, holds a good quantity of water, and it can easily be brought straight to the city by gravity, along the slope.

If that happens, the council's heavy expenditure on electricity can be saved entirely, and the pressure on the administration could also ease. But because of the administration's indifference, work on joining the pipeline in the Nachane area has stopped.

Most astonishing is that about 250 pipes for this 1,300-metre pipeline have already been brought and kept at the site. All the technical material is in place, yet the work has not moved forward at all. It has been learnt that the contractor was not paid on time for earlier work, and has refused outright to start the new work.

So the dam is ready, it has plenty of water, and the pipes are lying there. Only a dispute over pending bills has stalled the joining. As a result, despite nature's support, the people of Ratnagiri may have to scramble for water because of this administrative failure.

Drawing costly water from the Shil dam is placing a heavy burden of electricity bills on the council's coffers. The waste of ordinary taxpayers' money, by not fully using this gift of nature and the resources at hand, has now become the main cause of sharp anger among local residents.