Residents of V. Kalathur village in Veppanthattai taluk of Perambalur district have been facing severe drinking water shortages and frequent power outages for over a month.
Irked by the lack of drinking water supply, the residents on Saturday staged a protest near the V. Kalathur bus stand, demanding action. They alleged that they have been suffering due to a short supply of drinking water for over a month and frequent and prolonged power cuts in the past few days.
“Due to power cuts and voltage fluctuations, we are not able to use the bore water and even the electric appliances such as fan and mixer are unusable. With the increasing temperature, we are suffering to carry out our daily chores,” said G. Muthukumaran, a resident.
They alleged that even after repeated complaints to the officials, no action has been taken to solve the issue. Revenue officials and police personnel held peace talks with the villagers and assured them that steps would be taken to solve the problem soon. The protest lasted over an hour.
According to sources, Veppanthattai block is reeling under a severe water crisis. Similar is the situation in most of the revenue villages in the district.
When contacted, a senior official from the block said steps are being taken to provide drinking water through alternative means to areas facing water scarcity. “We are inspecting areas requiring overhead water tanks and borewells to establish them. The ongoing work of laying drinking water pipelines would also be expedited,” he added.
Perambalur municipality, which comprises 21 wards has been grappling with water scarcity for years. Water is being distributed only once in 10 days in some areas, causing severe distress among the residents.
To tackle the shortage, the state government, in its 2024-25 budget, earmarked ₹366.50 crore for a Combined Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) in the district. The water supply scheme, using the Kollidam River as the source, will be implemented to provide water to around 65,000 people in Perambalur Municipality.
