Water shortage cause Ponah villagers to cancel puja

MEMBERS of the Shiva Mandir in Ponah Village, Williamsville, had to cancel their monthly puja because of water shortage.

President of the temple Rudranath Mahadev said in the history of the temple there had never been a time when the taps went dry for so long a period of time.

“The temple had no water for five weeks. We had to purchase water for our regular Sunday mornings service and we had to cancel our puja as we were expecting at least 150 persons to attend.”

A huge feast is planned, he said, whenever there is puja at the temple.

“We need water for cooking and washing of large utensils as well for cleaning the temple for service.”

The Hindu leader said feeding the congregation was important as it was a rule in Hinduism.

Chairman of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, Henry Awong said Los Attajos village was without a supply for weeks.

He said, after meeting with officials from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), he was given a revised schedule for his area.

“This is not working because the areas that were scheduled for a supply of water on Wednesday did not received that supply."

Awong called on Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte to look into the water supply of Couva residents as they had been suffering since the start of the dry season in January.