Canacona’s water supply crisis has deepened after repeated bursts along the Chapoli dam pipeline disrupted drinking-water access in Mokhard, Shristhal and Mastimal for three consecutive days. The failures have caused extensive leakage and left residents, including people in Mokhard who have no alternative water source, dependent on repairs by the drinking water department.
The affected pipelines carry water from Chapoli dam to Canacona. Their failure has left taps dry across the three areas and has also inconvenienced staff working in government offices, according to residents quoted in the report. The disruption has continued as repair teams work to restore the damaged supply line.
Panchayat member Ramu Naik said the situation in Mokhard was particularly difficult because residents there rely entirely on the piped network. With no alternative source available in the area, even a short interruption creates an immediate problem for households and other users dependent on regular supply.
The location of the main pipeline is adding to the repair challenge. The line runs along the highway, making it difficult for the drinking water department to deploy heavy machinery quickly. A local resident said repairs often have to be carried out manually because heavy equipment cannot be used easily at the site. This has delayed the restoration process while water continues to be lost through the bursts.
Pradeep Naik, assistant engineer at the Canacona water supply department, said repair work on the affected pipelines was being carried out on a war footing. The department’s immediate task is to repair the damaged sections and resume regular supply to the three affected areas.
The repeated failures have also raised a longer-term maintenance concern for residents. Locals said pipeline bursts have become a recurring problem and called for a permanent solution rather than repeated emergency repairs. Their concern is not limited to the current three-day outage: each failure exposes the dependence of Mokhard, Shristhal and Mastimal on a pipeline network that is difficult to access and repair when it breaks.
The report does not specify the number of damaged sections, the age or material of the pipelines, or a completion deadline for the ongoing work. For now, restoration depends on the department completing manual repairs along the Chapoli dam-to-Canacona route and bringing the affected supply back into operation.
