The Hindu 20.08.2012
Tuticorin residents reel under severe drinking water crisis
Residents of Tuticorin are feeling hot and thirsty sans drinking water supply, which is accessible only once in eight days and beyond in some tail-end localities.
Tuticorin Corporation has been facing an unprecedentedly serious crisis of drinking water in the recent past. With water scarcity looming large, residents have no alternative but to drink boiled borewell water. Anticipating water supply, people even skip their regular work and stay put at their houses to pump the drinking water, said M.S. Muthu, town secretary, DYFI, here on Sunday.
Residents of Toovipuram could not get water for nine consecutive days, he said. Despite growing water scarcity, water was supplied to industries. The industrialists must be insisted on establishing desalination plants to convert sea water in to potable water and the authorities concerned had to enforce the regulation to be followed. If such a measure was adopted, people would be relieved of the water scarcity, he said.
Commissioner of Corporation S. Madhumathi said that due to low level of water at Tamirabarani, unusually, it would be possible to supply water once in eight days and she had appealed to the residents to use water judiciously.
Other sources from corporation said that the daily requirement of drinking water was 26 million litres but only around 13 million litres of water was available. Since water level in Papanasam dam had risen to 38.15 feet against the storage of 33.15 feet a couple of days ago, chances brightened for Tuticorin residents to get water.
Minister for Labour Welfare S.T. Chellapandian inspected Vallanad Water Headworks on Saturday and sought the intervention of public works department authorities to release 500 cusecs of water from the Papanasam dam to solve the crisis. The problem would be solved once the required amount of water is released. Besides, a proposal for implementing the fourth water pipeline at an estimated cost of Rs.222.86 crore had been forwarded to government. Once administrative sanction was accorded, the project would be executed on a 48 kilometre stretch to supply 97 million litres of water per day to the residents of 60 wards. With three pipe lines in existence, the supplying capacity was 25 MLD, sources added.
With incorporation of five additional panchayats in Tuticorin Corporation, the population of the town has increased to 3.90 lakh from 2.40 lakh. Twenty wards included from the incorporated panchayats were the tail-enders who could get water from public taps.
