Chennai: a group of residents in Pallavaram protested against the local civil body to stop drinking water supply through pumps without previous intimacy.
For more than 15 years, residents of NSK Nagar, Mgr Nagar and Kamala Street in Pallavaram have depended on the pump for their drinking water needs.
Last week, Pallavaram Municipality stopped the supply to pump suddenly.
It would later say it is impossible to extract water from the pump again because the surface of the ground drops below 300 feet.
Local bodies also tell residents that they plan to change the pump into a pit harvesting rainwater so that the ground water level can improve in the future.
However, a subramanian, the President of the Welfare Association of NMK citizens who cover three fields, said there might be a hidden motive behind this sudden step.
“Recently, premium apartments have appeared in our area and the drinking water pump blocks the movement of free vehicles to the apartment.
They don’t want to see water cans in front of their entrance,” he said.
Refusing this, a senior Pallavaram Municipality official said groundwater content fell below 300ft a few years ago and has nothing to do with the apartment that came there.
To meet the needs of drinking water, the municipality has installed a hand pump and mini-water tank (filled with the help of a bore well) on the adjacent road.
In addition, water is supplied through a tanker every five days.
But how this is sufficient, asking for Subramanian, who said the majority of the affected population was a daily bet that went very early to work.
“They don’t have time to stand in the queue for hours to take water from the water tank on the next road.
So once they return home at night, the hand pump is the only source of water,” he said.
As a continuing protest, Pallavaram Mla I Karutidi, a senior police officer and the municipality arrived at this place and calmed the protesters by submitting steps to release the temporary pump.
They also promised to provide water through tankers twice a week to a permanent solution found.
The authorities promised local residents that the work of underground drinking water pipelines in the city of Pallavaram was almost complete and will be inaugurated within 20 days.
After the project becomes a reality, water can be cooked once in two or three days.