PUDUKKOTTAI: Unable to meet Revenue and panchayat officials on Friday to discuss water issues in their area, Ramadas and his wife Rajakumari from Sempattividuthi were redirected to a school where Health Minister C Vijayabaskar was attending a function. As the couple brought with them a sample of the impure water from their area’s overhead tank, attention was not hard to come by. The Minister gave them a hearing and quickly initiated action.
The overhead tank was only giving turbid water. Ramadas said the quality and colour of the water was comparable to that of mud and sewage. Friday was the third day a temporary mini-tank operator stopped providing water to the public as he allegedly had not been paid. This meant residents had to use water from the overhead tank.
“We have to filter and then boil the water. Washing clothes using water from the tank changes their colour,” said Ramadas. Three motors which pumped water to the 60-kilolitre tank were either damaged or inefficient.
Disturbed over having no choice but to use the impure water and so risking their health, Ramadas and his wife went to the panchayat office. As the clerk was not available, they went to the Revenue office and were unable to meet the official concerned.
The couple was then informed that Vijayabaskar was at a school nearby. “We had with us the turbid water in a bottle along with the petition requesting officials to fix the problem. We explained our plight to him and he called a DRDA official to fix the issue,” said Ramadas. After submitting the petition signed by the Minister to Revenue officials, when the couple returned home, they found them investigating the issue.