I do not know how many of you had the opportunity to witness a well cleaning in Goa. It is one of Goa's ancient traditions.
On Wednesday, May 28 I was lucky to witness such an event.
Wells in Goa are cleaned about once every three to five years or so. And they are cleaned just prior to the monsoons. This one had not been cleaned for about fifteen years. Significant sludge had built up over the years blocking the free flow of water from the underground springs.
Prior to electricity in the villages, the emptying of the well had to done manually.
This cleaning operation lasted all day with the workers toiling in the hot May sun. Prior to commencement of work they checked for Carbon Dioxide and other inflammable gasses by lowering a lit candle down. Then, following a short puja (religious) ceremony, they commenced work first by pumping out the existing water and then lowering a worker down the well.
This is a very deep well and one of the deepest in the village.
Go to: http://photos.yahoo.com/timdemello3
and the Well Cleaning album to see the pics I took of this operation.
Today, there is already over two metres of fresh water in the well.
Althought there is piped water supplied to the villages, wells form an important resource in the hot summer months prior to the onset of monsoons. Wells also help to rechrage the acquifers.
For those of you who might be interested, the total charge for cleaning the well was Rs. 4,000/-
And, Oh! Yes!
VIVA GOA!!!
Tim de Mello [EMAIL PROTECTED] Goa, INDIA
_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
##########################################################################
# Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts #
# More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others #
##########################################################################
