E.V. Velu, Tiruvannamalai MLA and DMK district secretary, on Tuesday said the administration had failed to properly distribute water available in the Sathanur Reservoir.
Earlier, he visited pick-up dam of Sathanur Reservoir from where water is tapped for irrigation and drinking water needs of Tiruvannamalai town and other villages.
Mr. Velu said water supply schemes helped supply water to 200 villages, Tiruvannamalai municipality, Chengam and Pudupalayam town panchayats. First of the three Sathanur Combined Water Schemes was initiated in 1972 through which 25 lakh litres were supplied to Tiruvannamalai town. The second scheme implemented in 1974 supplied another 80 lakh litres to Tiruvannamalai. The third scheme was implemented at a cost of ₹36.66 crore with a capacity of supplying 1 crore litres a day when DMK was in power. This was done with the aim of saving Tiruvannamalai town and adjoining villages from drinking water scarcity at least for another decade. Using these schemes, the administration claimed that 120 litres of water per day per person was being supplied to Tiruvannamalai town. But in reality at least 10 wards in Tiruvannamalai municipality were presently experiencing drinking water scarcity. Villages located en route to Tiruvannamalai, from Sathanur, viz. Thandarampattu, Radhapuram, Sirupakkam, Mel Chettipattu, Keel Chettipattu and Nallavanpalayam were supposed to get water from Sathanur CWSS. But it was not sao. Thanippadi village located near Sathanur was not getting sufficient water and the available water too was not clean.
“Enquiries into the reasons for the improper supply of water, reveals that contractors who carry out maintenance and distribution work were not given payment for the last seven months. Due to lack of maintenance water failed to reach destinations.
A Puducherry-based company that supplied chlorine gas for treating drinking water for Thanippadi did not get payment for last one-and-a-half years,” Mr. Balu said. Supply of water was not clean in Thanippadi, he added.
