CHENNAI: Many of us would have consumed seawater accidently while playing in the beach and scoffed at the salty aftertaste. Now, imagine having to drink seawater every day, for lack of proper drinking water in your locality. That is the situation facing the villagers of Suleri Kattukuppam, located right beside the Nemmeli desalination plant.
The Nemmeli plant, located around 35 km south of Chennai along the East Coast Road, has a capacity to supply 100 million litres of drinking water per day. This is to cater mainly to the city’s southern suburbs including Sholinganallur, Neelangarai, Thoraipakkam, Thiruvanmiyur, Velachery, Taramani, Adyar and Besant Nagar.
However, while it has quenched the city’s thirst, it has left the residents of Suleri Kattukuppam with parched throats. The 250 houses in the area were built by the Rotary Club for the fishermen community after the 2004 tsunami. Their problems began in 2013, right after the desalination plant was proposed.
During the plant’s construction phase, invaluable groundwater was pumped out continuously to lay its deep foundations, resulting in rapid depletion of the hamlet’s primary drinking water resource. This groudwater eventually got replaced with intruding saltwater from the sea. This reporter was given water by the villagers to sample it and it tasted like saltwater mixed with chemicals.
“All the fishermen protested against the construction of the desalination plant. From the then Collector of Kancheepuram to several top officials from the Fisheries Department, everyone assured that it was safe. Moreover, every household was promised one job. But little did we know then that everything was a lie,” said R Muthukrishnan, a resident of the village.
The residents claim only 80 of them got jobs. “This too was on contract basis when the plant was under construction. Two years later, their contract ended and many were rendered jobless again. Adding to it, we don’t even have proper water to drink,” added Muthukrishnan.
Recently, the government laid a row of rocks to prevent the mixing of seawater with groundwater. However, nothing changed. “During the rains, water tastes worse. We only use the water to clean vessels and clothes. There is a burning sesnsation all over the body if we go out in the sun after taking bath with this water. The saltiness of water decreased after rocks were laid, but it still is not safe for consumption,” said G Ruben, another resident.
The residents spend at least Rs 450 for water per household each month. But fishermen say incomes are declining because the marine resources in and around Nemmeli have taken a hit due to the plant. Fishermen claim they used to earn around Rs 800 per day earlier when the winds co-operated, but now earning even Rs 200 has become a daunting task.
Janarthanan Perumal, president of the fishermen co-operative in the area, explained that a few species of fish including Kilanga and Kaala that were sold in the market for Rs 600 per kg completely disappeared. There had been a 50 per cent decline in business.Officials of the Fisheries Department said the fishermen were not happy with the jobs they were offered. Ample measures are being taken to address the situation in the hamlet, they added.