Residents of Kovilpatti are facing an acute drinking water scarcity.
J. Devadoss, a resident of Bharathi Nagar in the town, said that drinking water was being supplied only once in 15 to 18 days. The problem was existing in the past several years, except for some period prior to the recent Assembly election. Immediately before the polls, when the problem was even worse when water was supplied once in 20 days, there was some respite when people could get water once in eight days.
The duration of water supply had also been restricted to 30 or 45 minutes now. People could at least fill their drums, buckets and cans with water then when it was supplied for three hours.
Adding to the poor distribution problem, residents said that the drinking water was mixed with sewage water sometimes, owing to leakage. Hence people are forced to buy mineral water in cans for drinking.
When contacted, R. Mallika, Chairperson of Kovilpatti Municipality, said that drinking water was being supplied for not less than two hours, once in 10 or 11 days. Delay over executing a dedicated drinking water pipeline project in the municipality was posing a problem. The project was proposed at a cost of Rs. 82 crore under Central Urban Development Funds but the authorities were reluctant to accord administrative sanction to the project, she said.
The cause for delay over implementing this project is not known. Only when the project is completed, people could get regular water supply. More than 90,000 people are living in Kovilpatti Municipality limits.
