MADURAI: Insufficient water supply has allegedly forced around 500 families -- who were allotted houses in Karuthapuliyampatti in Therkutheru panchayat in Melur taluk -- to purchase domestic and potable water from private water tankers at Rs 20 per pot. The residents rely on just one borewell, which is severely inadequate to meet their water needs.
During 2020-2021, the TN Urban Habitat Development Board (Madurai Division), in partnership with the PMAY-Urban, constructed 512 houses at a total cost of Rs 47.27 crore, according to sources. The settlement is located roughly four kilometres from Melur town, which gets water supplied through the Melur Combined Water Scheme.
R Muthu, one of the residents, told TNIE that residents in the neighbourhood have been facing an acute water shortage for last three years. He claimed that the residents encountered the issue on the very first day they had moved to the settlement, as there was only one borewell for the entire neighbourhood. He said, "It (borewell) is insufficient even for drinking purposes, forcing us to purchase water for cooking and drinking. Most of the families here are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds; many work as daily-wage labourers. For the last three years, we have been forced to spend at least Rs 800 to Rs 1,500 every month on water."
Muthu said the water requirement for their locality is just a few thousand litres a day and that the pipelines from Melur town needed to be extended just three kilometres to supply water.
Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board (Madurai) officials said the existing Melur Combined Water Scheme, implemented in 2016, cannot be extended to the new habitations. "The scheme was designed to meet both the present and future water demands of the town. The new settlement was established in 2020-2021, and water supply cannot be extended to these areas, despite their proximity of just four kilometres."
An official from the district administration said that, during the construction of the houses in the neighbourhood, a proposal was made to establish a 20,000-litre water tank and four borewells, but it was not approved. The official said a new proposal has been prepared for the construction of plastic tanks in all the blocks of the neighbourhood, alongside four borewells. "The administrative approval is expected to be granted in a few weeks," added the official.