SALEM: Residents of Kalaignar Nagar in Attur have once again raised the demand that they should be supplied drinking water from the Mettur dam instead of a local water body. The residents said they have been raising the issue from the past eight years, but the government is yet to address their demand.
Kalaingar Nagar falls under ward 3 of Attur municipality. More than 2,000 families live here, and they are supplied drinking water from the Ayyanar lake in the town. But residents allege the water is not suitable for drinking.
“Drinking water is supplied to our area by the municipality from the Ayyanar lake which is close to our place. Water is drawn through a borewell from next to the lake. But the water is saline. Around 2,000 families live in the 4th ward. The situation is same there,” said Kumaran, a resident.
He added, “In both the wards, there are several people with kidney problems. We suspect that it could be because of the quality of the drinking water. Due to this fear, we are buying packaged water and spend Rs 500 per month. This is in addition to Rs 400 we pay every month for municipal water supply. We need water supply from Mettur dam. Mettur water is supplied even to areas which are far away from our area. We have been making this request for the past eight years.”
Attur municipal officials refute the charges. “Not only for the two wards, water from the lake is supplied to around 10 wards. Work is underway to supply Mettur water to all areas. It will get over soon,” an official said. Municipal Commissioner of Attur Vasanthi said the issue will be resolved soon.