TIRUPPUR : Water connections to more than 20,000 houses in several parts of the Tiruppur city are pending. The delay prevents them from carrying out any work on the floors, ramps or compound walls near existing pipelines.
Official records state Rs 30 crore was allocated under the 15th Finance Commission Grant for House Service Connection with water meters to 81,982 service connections in the city. However, still today only 54,238 connections were provided at the cost of Rs 17.42 crore. Around 27,744 connections are still pending.
Speaking to TNIE, Santhosh Kumar, a resident said, water connections are unavailable at many places.New distribution links and internal plumbing works are pending. Some areas in Chinnandipalayam, Andipalayam and Anaipalayam have no proper roads. Officials claim that the delay in the construction of roads and provision of new water connections were interrelated.
The officials also claimed that roads will be constructed after drainage works are completed. Local pipelines for internal plumbing will be laid only after the drainage works are finished.
Meanwhile, many residents are upset that the distance between the local pipelines and the internal pipes leading to the underground water tank on the house premises is around 1 to 2 metres. K Lokeshwari, a Mangalam Road resident, said, “We already have a water connection in our house. A year ago, some of the officials informed us that they would be giving a new connection to the water metre as a part of the fourth water scheme. Since then we have been waiting for the new connection and the meter.”
Officials from the Tiruppur Municipal Corporation said massive drainage repair works are being carried out in several parts of the city. We have given orders to officials to complete that work as soon as possible. The main reason for the delay is that drainage works take more time than any other work. Once the drainage work is complete, feeder lines from the fourth water scheme will be installed. Later, local pipelines will be installed.