In Nemmeli, lives wither in salt 

Undrinkable water and dwindling fish yield — the city’s second desalination plant has wreaked havoc in Suleri Kattukuppam
In Nemmeli, lives wither in salt 

CHENNAI: It’s common to consume salt water while at sea, but it’s not so when you are at home. But for residents of Suleri Kattukuppam — a hamlet with 250 homes, located beside the Nemmeli desalination plant — salt water is all that they receive for consumption. Sadly, this is not their only problem.
Nemmeli, about 35 km south of Chennai city along the East Coast Road, supplies 100 million litres of drinking water per day mainly to the city’s southern suburbs including Sholinganallur, Neelangarai, Thoraipakkam, Thiruvanmiyur, Velachery, Taramani, Adyar and Besant Nagar. However, while it quenched the city’s thirst, it parched the throats of Suleri Kattukuppam residents.

After houses were built by the Rotary Club for the fishermen community in and around Nemmeli after the 2004 tsunami, their lives were peaceful for a few years. Their problems began after the desalination plant came up in 2013. While the issue has been raised in the past, officials have not responded to the media or to the villagers’ plea. 
“The plant has completely ruined our lives. From the then collector of Kancheepuram, VP Singh, to several top officials from the Fisheries department, everyone assured that it is safe and no hindrances would occur. Moreover, they promised one job for each household in the area,” said R Muthukrishnan, a resident of the village.

Residents claim that only about 80 of them got jobs as construction labourers on a contract basis when the plant was under construction. Two years after construction, they were turned away saying no ‘menial’ jobs are available and that government staff would now occupy the building. “We were devastated. They showed us money and snatched it away from us in no time. But, that was only the beginning of the numerous issues that followed,” he said. 

During the plant’s construction phase, groundwater was pumped out continuously to sink deep foundations. This resulted in rapid depletion of the available underground sweet water, which eventually got replaced with intruding salt water from the sea. This reporter was given water by the villagers to sample it, and it tasted like sea water. “During the rains, water tastes worse. Before the plant came up, the water here used to taste sweet. Now, we are unable to use it for anything except for washing clothes and vessels,” said G Ruben, another resident. 

Residents are forced to buy water cans that cost `30 each. But, the desalination plant seems to have played a spoilsport in their jobs too.
Marine resources in and around Nemmeli drastically took a hit after the plant was set up. Fishermen claim that while they used to earn around `800 per month when the winds co-operated, now earning even `200 has become a daunting task. 

“Fishing was lucrative almost throughout the year. Prawns and fish were abundant in the sea. After the plant came up, few species of the fish including Kilanga and Kaala that were sold in the market at `600 per kg have completely disappeared. We saw a 50 per cent decline in the business,” said Janarthanan Perumal,  president of the fishermen co-operative society in the area.
The residents shudder at the news of another desalination plant at Perur in Nemmeli with a capacity of 400 mld that is reported to come up soon at a cost of `3,912 crore. They demand imperative action.
The officials of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) did not want to comment on the issue.

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