Chennai: Municipal water is supplied through tankers once in 40 days and hand pumps do not function in the locality, and the residents of suburban Anakaputhur, a community of about 15,000 people, comprising mostly weavers, fear that they are in for a terrible summer.
Speaking to this newspaper, a locality resident and weavers association member said, “Most of the hand pumps in our locality are non-functional. The ones that work supply water only on alternate days. To add to our woes, municipal water tankers arrive only once a month or 40 days.”
He said the locals wait all day in queues near the hand pumps to collect water. “My brother waited from 2.30 am till 8 am to get a bucket of water today. The water crisis has forced several residents to move out of our locality”.
He said the water from the was salty and could not be used for drinking. “We can buy drinking water but what about water for basic necessities, he asked.
He said they had reaised the issue with the municipality but the response was not satisfactory. “Today water was supplied only after we protested,” he said.
Adding to their plight, groundwater has depleted to about 500 feet and no measures have been taken for optimal harvesting of rainwater.
When this newspaper asked a municipal official, she said, “We are taking measures to resolve the water crisis at the earliest. Steps are being taken to treat the Pallavaram quarry water and supply it to the residents.”
