DHARMAPURI: As the summer heat picks up in Dharmapuri district, the municipality is severely affected by drinking water shortage and many people are resorting to illegal water siphoning. Some residents claimed that water was being provided once in four days, which is insufficient for daily use.
Speaking to TNIE, R Manimaran of Bharathipuram said, "We have about 900 residences in the Bharathipuram, 66ft road, EB colony, SB colony and Kumarapuri. This area accommodates about 3,500 people and in summer, the demand for water is extremely high.
Because of the excessive use of groundwater, bore wells have been failing and the only source of water is municipal water supply, which is erratic. Presently, we are being provided water once in four days for two hours. With the illegal siphoning, this water does not reach all residences."
Senior officials in TWAD told TNIE, "Since the establishment of the Hogenakkal Drinking Water and Fluorosis Mitigation project, we have been providing the municipality with 8.1 MLD of water daily. But for the past year, the municipality has been utilising only about 4 MLD of water, for which we have sought an explanation. But so far we have received no reply. We do not control the gate valves designated for the municipality, and the utilisation of water is entirely up to the latter. If there is any foul play, it can only be caused from their end."
Municipality Commissioner R Sekar said, "There was a supply disruption from TWAD for three days last week due to annual maintenance. This has caused a setback in water supply from which we have not entirely recovered yet.
Further, our municipality has a requirement of 9.6 MLD of water daily and we have sufficient water sources from TWAD, Panchapalli Integrated drinking water scheme and other local sources. Hence, there is no possibility of water shortage. Despite this, if there is a shortage, we will conduct joint inspections in each ward and resolve the issue."
Commenting on illegal water siphoning, the commissioner urged people to report the crime. "Severe fines will be imposed and water lines of those involved will be disconnected," he said.