Councillors highlighted the drinking water problem faced by the people at the municipal council meeting here on Thursday.

Sadasivam (DMK) said that in view of the power cut at 5 a.m., motors could not be used. Power cut should be effected only after 9 a.m. Sun Ramanathan (DMK) said that drinking water problem remains in all the 51 wards.

The municipality should take steps to solve drinking water problem which might become acute in summer. To this Srinivasan, municipal engineer, said that as Vennar would not get water during summer, only 10 million litres could be pumped from Vennar pumping station. So, alternative drinking water projects were considered by the municipality.

Many councillors raised sanitation issue and said that underground drainage block at many places led to leakage of sewage water. Savithiri Gopal, chairperson, said that 180 sanitation workers have been recruited through a private company. When all of them join work, these problems will be solved.

The municipality passed a resolution thanking Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for the efforts she had made to get the final award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal gazetted.

Moving the resolution, Ms. Gopal said that the Chief Minister had fought a legal battle to get the award gazetted. She observed fast at Chennai in 1993 on the Cauvery issue. When the Central government did not respond to the letters written by the Chief Minister to gazette the final award, the Chief Minister approached the Supreme Court. She finally succeeded and on the order issued by the Supreme Court, the Central government gazetted the award.

The municipality also passed resolutions thanking the Chief Minister for increasing the fund for Saraswathi Mahal Library from Rs.40 lakh to Rs.75 lakh, completing the construction of a new bridge across the Vennar near Palli Agraharam at Rs.5.15 crore and declaring it open, allotting Rs.11.84 crore to Tamil University, and allotting Rs.2,144 crores worth of relief and development measures to Cauvery delta farmers.

The municipality appreciated the Chief Minister for informing the Central government that she would not host the Asian Athletics as sportspersons from Sri Lanka would take part in the event.