Water infrastructure, a problem in added areas

April 01, 2015 08:22 am | Updated April 02, 2016 01:26 pm IST - CHENNAI:

Even as efforts are on to implement water supply schemes in the added areas, several suburban residents complain they are forced to purchase water due to inadequate supply.

What’s more: residents are asked to pay water tax for infrastructure that is not yet in place.

Residents of Sholinganallur and Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam say several streets have remained without water supply for several months now.

Harsha Koda, a resident of Sholinganallur, says only a few of colonies on Old Mahabalipuram Road get water through the piped network.

“We do not get supply even through Metrowater tankers. We buy water through private tankers but are being asked to pay water tax,” he says.

Metrowater collects seven per cent of the annual rental value fixed by the Chennai Corporation as water and sewerage tax, irrespective of whether a supply network is in place or not.

While some parts of Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam, like Chandrasekar Avenue, get supplied with water, residents of Srividya Avenue have to manage with groundwater resources.

Residents demand that at least street supply be provided at regular intervals.

S. Chidambaram of Madipakkam says they depend on packaged drinking water despite having remitted their deposits for water connection.

P.K. Subramanian, president of Federation of Adambakkam Welfare Association, says though pipelines have been laid, water supply has not improved in many parts of his neighbourhood.

Meenambakkam and Pazhavanthangal in Nanganallur are some of the areas where water supply has seen improvement, with Metrowater starting a trial run of water supply, says Latha Ramanujam of Nanganallur.

At present, of the 600 million litres a day (mld), nearly 100 mld is provided to added areas through pipelines and tankers. Officials says work is on in full swing to lay a pipeline network in suburban localities. Of the 42 merged areas, work has been completed in eight localities, including Valsaravakkam, Meenambakkam and Ambattur.

Water supply schemes are being implemented in nearly 28 areas, including Nerkundram, Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam, Sholinganallur, Mugalivakkam, Kottivakkam and Manali.

Similar schemes will be started in six more areas, including Madipakkam and Neelankarai, under the Chennai Mega City Development Mission funds.

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