CHENNAI: Residents of the Perumbakkam Slum Board Tenements took to the streets with empty pots on Friday morning after the water supply to the settlement, one of the largest resettlement sites in the city that houses over 20,000 people, was cut off.
According to the residents of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) resettlement site, the water supply, which was only provided every alternate day, had been stopped for the past three days.
“We have not been supplied with even a drop of water in the last three days. We have school-going children and there is not enough water for us to use even in the restroom,” said Srimathi (name changed).
Another resident said the inconsistency with which the water was supplied to the area was worrying.
There was no fixed time at which the water was supplied on alternative days. While earlier, water was supplied at either 6:00 am to 7:00 am or 2:00 pm, it is now being supplied at any time of the day. Office-goers and schoolkids suffer the most due to the inconsistent water supply, residents said.
“It’s not that we had a choice where or when we were relocated. My family and I left the comforts of the city, to settle here. If we don’t get even proper water, then I don’t find a point in living here. In my previous locality, we had water tankers supplying water. Here we do not even have that facility,” a resident rued.
When contacted, a TNUHDB official said, “Supply had been stopped due to damage in the metro water pipeline. We started work immediately and most of the damage was fixed by 7:00 am on Friday. The rest of the damage will be repaired soon. In the meantime, we have arranged tankers to supply water to the residents.” The residents said till Friday evening they had not received any water.