CHENNAI: A group of residents in Pallavaram staged a protest against the local civic body for stopping drinking water supply through pump without prior intimation. For more than 15 years, residents of NSK Nagar, MGR Nagar and Kamala Street in Pallavaram have depended on the pump for their drinking water needs.
Last week, Pallavaram municipality stopped the supply to pumps abruptly. It later said it was impossible to extract water from the hand pump anymore as the groundwater level had dropped below 300 feet. The local body also told the residents that they were planning to convert the pump into a rainwater harvesting pit so that groundwater level might improve in the future.
However, A Subramanian, president of NMK Residents Welfare Association which covers the three areas, said there could be an ulterior motive behind this sudden move. “Recently, a premium apartment has come up in our area and the drinking water pump is obstructing free movement of vehicles into the apartment. They don’t want to see water cans in front of their entrance,” he said.
Rejecting this, a senior Pallavaram municipality official said groundwater levels dropped below 300ft a few years back and it has got nothing to do with the apartment coming up there. To meet drinking water needs, the municipality has installed a hand pump and a mini-water tank (filled with the help of a bore well motor) on an adjacent street. Besides, water is supplied through tankers once every five days.
But how is this even sufficient, asked Subramanian, who said the majority of residents affected are daily wagers who leave very early for work. “They don’t have the time to stand in queues for hours to fetch water from the water tank on the next street. So once they return home in the evenings, hand pumps are the only source of water,” he said.
As protests continued, Pallavaram MLA I Karunanidhi, police and municipality senior officials arrived at the scene and appeased the protesters by giving up the move to disconnect the pump temporarily. They also promised to provide water through tankers twice a week till a permanent solution was found. Authorities promised the locals that the underground drinking water pipe works in Pallavaram municipal area is nearing completion and it will be inaugurated within 20 days. Once the project becomes a reality, water can be supplied once in two or three days.
