TIRUPPUR: In what could be considered a Deepavali gift, a section of residents in Thirumuruganpoondi Municipality will get water connection after a 14-year wait.
There are more than 13,000 housing units in Thirumuruganpoondi Municipality and water is supplied to them from Bhavani river through Tiruppur Water Supply Improvement Scheme (Second Scheme) by Tamil Nadu water supply and Drainage Board (TWAD). But, water distribution to individual households falls under the jurisdiction of the municipality, which was upgraded from being a town panchayat in October 2021. Recently, a survey was conducted and qround 1,500 houses were given piped water supply from Thursday.
K Ilaiyaraja, a resident, said, “Earlier there was severe water scarcity in Thirumuruganpoondi. Most of the residents were dependent on water tanks, borewells and village wells. When the second water scheme was announced, we were happy. But it was short lived as distribution for streets wasn’t initiated by local officials. The situation worsened after the population grew with the arrival of garment units in the municipality. We are happy officials have now initiated water supply within the city.”
Thirumuruganpoondi council chairman N Kumar said, “There were several problems in the Thirumuruganpoondi administration when it was a town panchayat. This is the first time, after 14 years, a section of people is getting water supply. We have initiated immediate supply from Thursday. Besides, currently Amrut water scheme is being initiated in Tiruppur City Corporation, when the water scheme is complete. Excess water will be diverted to the municipality.”
Thirumuruganpoondi Municipality Commissioner Mohammed Samsuddin said, “There were distribution issues in Thirumuruganpoondi for several years. After the town was upgraded into Municipality, we found that several thousand applications were pending. Based on the seniority, we conducted a survey and offered connection from Thursday evening.”