CHENNAI: After battling inundation for days following the cyclone, Chennai residents are now facing issues of drinking water contamination. People living across the city have alleged that water contamination was an issue in their areas months before the cyclone and it had become worse after the rain.
Residents of Arunthathiyar Nagar in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar said water being supplied in all of its 16 streets is contaminated, and they are forced to depend on packaged water. CB Paranthaman, a resident and activist, said, “Sewer overflow and inundation triggered by the cyclone have aggravated the situation. Water supplied through pipes reeks of bad odour. A proposal to lay new pipes was initiated and a pipe was even laid in a street. However, the work was immediately halted and is yet to restart.”
Sources said the metrowater has made interim arrangements and set up tanks to supply drinking water. Similar sentiments are also echoed by residents of Korattur. Both low-lying areas and residential areas face issues of water contamination.
Chandrashekhar, a resident of Korattur said residents have been facing this issue for the last four months. “Water supplied through the pipeline for the first 15 minutes is contaminated. So, we drain it out and collect the rest of the water. Houses with separate pipe connections can divert and drain the contaminated water. But in 90% of the houses, water is directly stored in sumps and contamination becomes inevitable,” he said.
Ward 84 councillor J John told TNIE, “This issue is prevalent across Korattur, including the housing board areas. I have raised this issue multiple times with the board and at council meeting. This issue has to be addressed on priority after the relief work.”
Meanwhile, metrowater officials from various divisions who spoke to TNIE acknowledged the issue of contamination. “To arrest water contamination, we have to excavate and check for leakage, which might have happened due to large-scale stormwater drain work. Due to the ongoing ban on road cuts, it will begin by January. As an interim measure, we are flushing all our supply channels,” an official said.