THOOTHUKUDI: ‘Step-motherly treatment’ is the phrase employed by residents of panchayats which have been absorbed by the Corporation.
Five panchayats — Meelavittan, Muthayapuram, Mullakadu, Sankaraperi and Madathur — were added to the Thoothukudi Corporation in 2011, taking the total number of wards from 51 to 60. People of these newly added areas complain that they get water once in 10 days, that too for just two hours. Among them, people from Madathur are the worst affected as they have to walk for miles to fetch water.
Pushpam, a resident of Madathur, said there is only one drinking water pipe located near the main road, which is nearly 2 km away.
“The shortage is temporary and will end as soon as the Fourth Pipeline Scheme is implemented,” says Thoothukudi Corporation Commissioner S Madhumathi. She further says the pipelines have started to touch Thoothukudi Corporation areas. She claims that tanker lorries supply water to the nine newly added wards to tackle the problem.
Corporation chief engineer Rajagopal says that at present, the newly added areas receive 25 litres per head per day but once the fourth pipeline scheme is implemented, all residents of the Corporation will receive over 135 litres per day.