PUDUCHERRY: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Public Works Department (PWD) head office here, condemning the supply of contaminated drinking water in Orleanpet and Nellithope constituencies. Party cadres broke pots filled with polluted water as part of the agitation.
Residents of Govindasalai in Orleanpet and parts of Nellithope allegedly fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming the water and were admitted to the Government General Hospital. Locals and political functionaries claimed that three people had died, though the Health Department maintained that the cause of death would be confirmed only after post-mortem.
The protest was led by DMK Puducherry state organiser and Opposition Leader R Siva, who demanded immediate supply of safe drinking water, compensation for the families of the deceased, and relief for those undergoing treatment.
“There is a drinking water problem in all constituencies of Puducherry, but the government remains negligent. The government is fully responsible for the death of three innocent people. Puducherry chief minister has not visited the affected areas so far, and the PWD minister and secretary are missing. In Tamil Nadu, they would have visited immediately,” Siva said.
He urged the government to replace old pipelines, distribute purified water cans free of cost until the supply is restored, and provide Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those hospitalised.
“If the government fails to act, people will ensure its disappearance in the next election,” he warned.
Alleging diversion of water to liquor factories, Siva claimed that supply from Muthirayarpalayam had already been redirected to such units. He also said post-mortem would be conducted only on one of the deceased, while the bodies of the other two had been handed over to their families.
MLAs Annibal Kennedy and R Senthilkumar, along with constituency in-charges S Gopal and V Karthikeyan, joined the protest. Cadres raised slogans, staged a road roko on Bussy Street, and later met Chief Engineer K Veeraselvam to press for immediate supply of clean water.
PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan later announced that 20-litre cans of purified water would be distributed to each family in the affected areas from Wednesday. He said five mobile squads had been formed to test samples thrice daily and chlorine levels in the supply were being increased.
Deputy Director of Health G Ragunathan said 33 people from Orleanpet and Nellithope had been admitted to hospital, of whom 16 were discharged. He added that special medical camps and wards had been arranged and advised the public to boil water before drinking and avoid unhygienic street food.