With two severe droughts preceding this year’s impending monsoon, Viswanathan Nagar in Ward 45 is finding it rather difficult to meet the water demands of its residents.
Residents like G. Ramu, who have seen K. Pudur transform from a lush green landscape to a cramped urban locality, state that their problems are occasionally resolved but largely ignored by the Madurai Corporation.
On April 7, water supply to the area was stopped as sewage got mixed with drinking water in the pipeline. People had to go to neighbouring areas to fetch water.
Later, water tankers arrived once in four days and dwellers were asked to fill up their share in buckets. Vexed residents lodged complaints on the Corporation’s WhatsApp helpline asking officials to repair the pipeline. They, however, received no response.
“A lot of residents in this area are elderly people. The tanker arrives at 11 a.m. and it becomes difficult for most of us to carry the water home. The tanker drivers also collect ₹ 10 from every resident for ‘expenses.’ How do we go about our everyday life,” asks Venu, a resident.
Since the stoppage of supply through pipes, residents have been regularly paying visits to Corporation offices. “As we didn’t receive a concrete assurance, we submitted a petition on June 20. The Commissioner said that our problem would be resolved within two weeks,” said Ramu. However, work is yet to begin.
Executive Engineer of Zone 2, S. M. Rajendran, said that the Commissioner had instructed officials to fast-track action. He was unable to say when the work would begin.
Assistant Engineer M. Ponmani said that six pipes would have to be connected in order to continue water supply. She promised the residents that they would receive water in their houses by Friday.
Most residents in surrounding localities too face similar problems. A. Venkatesan of Shankar Nagar said that water in areas like Rama Varma Nagar often got mixed with sewage.
“It smells terrible and cannot be consumed. Officials usually take time to solve issues as there is a tussle among different departments,” he says.
Residents of Viswanathan Nagar hope that their problem will be resolved within a week as promised.
