Seventeen resident welfare associations in Neelankarai have come together to form a federation. With water scarcity looming large over Chennai, ensuring water supply from the Nemelli desalination plant to these localities will be the topmost priority for the Federation.
“The Nemelli water supply pipeline goes through my area, but we don’t get water from it,” says S. Gomathi Nayagam, secretary of the Federation of Neelankarai Welfare Associations.
Nayagam, who moved to Ranga Reddy Colony 10 years ago, says none of the houses has invested in bore wells as the water is saline.
“We are dependent on supply from tanker lorries; and we buy canned water for the purpose of drinking,” he says, adding that individual houses spend 1,800 for 12,000 litres of water, every month.
According to the residents, some of the areas in neighbouring Palavakkam have started getting water from the Nemelli desalination plant.
Members of the Federation, which has a meeting scheduled for January 26, plan to approach senior Metrowater engineers to discuss the issue of water scarcity.
“We have already made a representation about this,” he says.
Members are also planning to motivate residents to adopt various water conservation measures.
According to Metrowater engineers of Zone 15, work on providing water supply in the neighbourhood is still at the design stage.
“An overhead tank has to be constructed to supply water to the areas in the locality,” says an official, adding that this is still in the planning and design stage.
Senior officials say work is being taken up in phases and its progress depends on the funds they get from the Government.
“For Palavakkam and Kottivakkam, it took close to two years to identify a site where the overhead tank could be built. Only by the end of last year was a site at Sangam Colony identified,” says an official.
Other major demands of the Federation include expediting drainage work and completing the work on laying an underground cable system.
