After a 30-day wait, residents of Panthadi finally stopped hearing the empty hiss of their taps and saw water flowing into their pots on Thursday.
R. Rathinakumar, secretary, Madurai Panthadi Residents’ Welfare Association, said that this ‘feat’ was possible only after a group of women carried empty pots to protest outside Madurai Corporation’s Zone 3 office on Tuesday.
This area, located close to Tirumalai Nayak Palace, is among the 15 wards in old Madurai Corporation that face frequent disruptions in water supply. The problems range from infrequent supply and water barely reaching tail-end of some streets to mixing of sewage and bursting of pipelines.
Corporation engineers attribute these problems to the decades-old pipelines, some of which have not been replaced for a century.
Started in 1892
According to a doctoral research done by S. Chandran, an Associate Professor of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, protected water supply was provided to Madurai in as early as 1892 for a population of one lakh at the rate of 30 litres per capita per day (lpcd). A headwork at Arapalayam was commissioned for the first time for the purpose. Subsequently, with increase in population and households, additional sources of water supply were identified by sinking infiltration wells in the Vaigai. The Arapalayam headwork was, however, decommissioned later because the water quality was found unsuitable for consumption both chemically and bacteriologically.
The pumping station at Arasaradi was established on August 8, 1963. When the Corporation had only 58 wards, water would arrive to the pumping station from Vaigai’s riverbed in Kochadai, Melakkal and Manalur. The first phase of the Vaigai Water Supply Scheme was introduced in 1995 to provide 68 mld of water to the city.
The second phase, which was implemented in 2009, saw an additional 47 mld of water being distributed to the pumping station to cater to a growing Madurai population, which had by then crossed 12 lakh.
In 2011, the city witnessed major expansion with the number of wards getting increased from 72 to 100. Currently, Madurai Corporation receives 152 mld of water and claims to cater to all 100 wards via pipelines and tankers.
The Bureau of Indian Standards 1172 (1993, reaffirmed in 1998), states that each citizen should receive 150-200 lpcd but Madurai Corporation provides only between 105 and 120 lpcd. This shortage necessitated implementation of new projects to bring water to the city from elsewhere.
On the other hand, residents, mainly those in old Madurai, allege that the Corporation has done little to properly maintain or overhaul the old pipelines to ensure that available water is distributed without loss and contamination.
Predicament continues
These problems are particularly acute in wards such as Swami Sannidhi (50), South Krishnan Temple (66) and Manjanakkara Street (67) around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. For instance, engineers of Zone 3 have told residents of Panthadi that there is insufficient pressure to serve all houses located all the way from the first to the ninth street.
“In the absence of piped water, we are buying water in cans and also from tankers that supply 5,000 litres to fill our tanks,” Mr.Rathinakumar says. Residents, who could afford, have sunk deep borewells but the yield is poor, he adds.
Ramesh Babu, a long-time resident of ward 73 (Lakshmipuram), says water supplied by the Corporation has an unpleasant odour. Residents are forced to adopt illegal means, like using motors, to draw water due to inadequate pressure in the main line. “Quarrel among women in the area is a common occurrence due to shortage in supply,” he says. Some residents, who have sunk borewells to a depth of even 500 feet, are not able to draw sufficient water.
A senior corporation engineer says groundwater level in the main city usually ranges between 400 and 600 feet. It becomes worse during summer. “Since water was released in Vaigai river for the Chithirai festival, there might be some respite for a few days,” he says.
M. Mohammed Najmudeen, a resident of Swami Sannidhi area, also says contamination of water due to seepage of sewage into drinking water pipeline is a problem affecting the health of children.
Solution
The Corporation has proposed to replace the pipelines in 15 wards, primarily in the old city areas. It has proposed to provide water to unserved areas such as Iravathanallur. Absence of piped water supply forced many people to go without water for four days during the festival, says M. Sethuraman, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) functionary.
The project will cost ₹77 crore and pipeline to a length of 253 km will be replaced, says Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan. He says the replacement is meant to avoid seepage of sewage. “I am confident that these areas will soon receive 100% water supply. We are already addressing the day-to-day needs,” he says.
