“Give us drinking water or we will not be voting in the Assembly elections”, said residents of Karukankattuputhur hamlet under Ettiveerampalayam village panchayat while laying siege to the Collectorate here on Monday.
According to them, they have been without the supply of drinking water for nearly a month.
“All these days, we were forced to purchase water at the rate of Rs 10 per pot from private parties. Since most of the families depend on the meagre wages given for works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and some unorganised sector employment, purchasing water is not a viable option”, said M. Thangamani, a resident.
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The villagers said that they were frustrated as their complaints taken to the notice of the authorities on many occasions did not get proper attention.
They gave a representation to the District Collector highlighting their predicament and returned once the officials assured to look into the issue.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed to know whether the issue will be solved at least this time”, said P. Nagarajan, a textile unit worker.
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On the day, a group of residents from Vanchinagar under Corporation ward 52, too, gave a petition to Collector S. Jayandhi citing that the pathway to their hamlet was getting encroached slowly over the past few weeks.