They have begun to see it as a pipe dream

Residents of many areas in Chitlapakkam have been waiting for piped water supply for a decade

Around ten years ago, hope of receiving piped water supply sprang in hearts of these residents. Today, the hope remains. Only that it has a companion — frustration.

Residents of Thirumagal Nagar, Pradeep and Karthik Avenue, Deepika Nagar and Kalyana Sundaram Street, Chitlapakkam continue to do what they have been doing all these years — request the authorities concerned that the long-pending demand be met,

Recently, the Association made a request to the State government that drinking water be supplied to them at the earliest.

P. Dayanand, a resident of Pradeep and Karthik Avenue, says, “We depend on groundwater for cooking, drinking and other activities. The problem is: groundwater here has high levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and, in recent years, the groundwater table has depleted.”

During the rainy season, groundwater gets contaminated by sewage from septic tanks. The houses in the neighbourhood are yet to get Under Ground Drainage (UGD) system and residents have constructed septic tanks.

It is common to see them discharging sewage into stormwater drains that are supposed to carry rainwater to the Sembakkam lake.

“Last July, we sent a petition to the the CM’s cell highlighting this issue and it was forwarded to the Chitlapakkam Selection Grade Town Panchayat through the Kancheepuram Collector. We received a reply in August stating that they had requested the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to supply 25 lakh litres of drinking water and provide 1,000 drinking water connections. However, no action has been taken so far,” says Dayanand.

When the Association members sent a petition again to the CM’s cell, the Chitlappakkam panchayat replied that drinking water was supplied in turns through the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board. It also said that they had requested the TWAD Board to supply 25 lakh litres of extra water and include Chitlapakkam in one of the water schemes available in the city.

“Before the elections were postponed, three drinking water taps were fitted in Karthik Avenue and water was supplied only for three weeks,” residents allege.

At present, we use groundwater after purifying it through a reverse osmosis (RO) filtration system. Despite digging borewells for 300 feet, there is no water, the residents complained. Official sources refuted the allegations made by the residents and said water was supplied at regular intervals by the TWAD Board.