Residents of various parts of Chennai have complained about drinking water contamination and lack of piped water supply due to damage caused to pipelines during ongoing work to build new infrastructure.
Residents in parts of Kolathur, including V.V. Nagar, Poompuhar Nagar, Jayaram Nagar and G.K.M. Colony, said they received water mixed with sewage after the pipelines were damaged during digging for constructing storm-water drains.
S. Venugopal of V.V. Nagar said new water pipelines running to a length of 18 km were laid in 2017 to prevent sewage mixing with drinking water. However, the problem surfaced again in the past few months. Trenches dug for storm-water drain were filled with sewage in some areas.
Though Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board repaired the lines, it was more of a temporary solution. In a few days, the problem occurred in other streets of the same locality, he said.
N.E. Naresh of Poompuhar Nagar said contractors damaged water pipelines and electricity cables in their haste to complete the storm-water drain work on time. Residents spend at least ₹3,000 to clean the sump. The water board must take steps to provide permanent solution, he said.
Irregular supply
In Kodambakkam, residents of places like Akbarabad Second Street and Subramaniam Nagar often go without water supply for more than a week frequently.
Vasanthi Kannan, secretary, Kodambakkam Residents’ Civic and Welfare Association, said the water pipelines were damaged repeatedly during digging for Metro Rail work. People had to buy tanker water to meet their daily needs even though there was no water scarcity in the city.
Officials of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board said details of the existing water and sewer infrastructure had been shared with Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. and the Greater Chennai Corporation.
The personnel of the water board monitored the heavy drilling work. Steps were taken to resolve issues immediately. It would take one or two days for the water pressure to normalise in the entire area. Steps were also being taken to plug unauthorised sewer outfalls in the storm-water drains and repair damaged lines in Kolathur.
Published - July 10, 2023 07:38 pm IST
