Residents of Transport Nagar here blocked vehicular traffic on National Highway 7 near A. Vellode on Tuesday, demanding regular water supply to their area.
Traffic was disrupted for more than 45 minutes. Vehicles were lined up for distance of two kilometres on down lanes of Madurai-Dindigul Highway. Even long-distance buses and trucks were stranded on the highway.
The women protestors alleged that drinking water had not been supplied to them for the past four months. Transport Nagar came under two village panchayat administrations. Half of the locality was situated within Alamarathupatti panchayat limits and the other half within Kalikkampatti panchayat limits in Athoor union. Both the panchayats had been struggling to maintain drinking water supply owing to acute drought condition, they said.
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Already, bore wells sunk in houses had completely dried up. Now, the residents were totally depending on the panchayats for water supply. To meet drinking water needs, both the village panchayats dug two bore wells recently.
Alamarathupatti panchayat fitted an electric motor to the bore well and started drawing water to supply it to the residents of Transport Nagar coming under its limits. With no power supply available, Kalikkampatti panchayat could not draw water from the new bore well.
With closure of all water sources, one section of residents had to buy water from private suppliers, they alleged.
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Ambathurai police tried to convince the agitators. But the agitators demanded an assurance from the Collector for drinking water supply. Later, they withdrew the agitation as panchayat officials assured them that they would get power connection within a week and start water supply.
The police registered cases against 34 persons, including 30 women, in this connection.
Say water has not been supplied to their area for four months