NAGAPATTINAM: Residents of Varadharajapuram from Tirumarugal Block in Nagapattinam have raised concerns over erratic water supply in the village, with locals being forced to walk at least a kilometre everyday to fetch water from Seeyathamangai panchayat overhead tank and from a hand pump, as the water supplied from the overhead tank through the pipeline reaches the village once every fortnight.
Govindaraj (70), stumbles carrying a water pot on his shoulders, walking at least a kilometre on an uneven sand road to collect it from the overhead tank. “There is no set schedule for the water supply, which is now being given to us after a two-week break. The water pressure is also very low which results in insufficiency,” said Govindaraj.
As most of the villages in Nagapattinam, Varadharajapuram, which houses roughly 30 families with almost 100 family members, lack borewell facilities as the salinity level in the groundwater is high, making the groundwater impotable.
“There is a pond nearby, but that is of no use except for construction works, given the impure state of the pond water,” said Chitra, a resident. “Every day, we have to either walk a kilometre towards the panchayat overhead tank or towards the opposite direction to the only hand pump to collect water, since the water supplied here is insufficient and very untimely,” said Chitra.
“When we receive water supply, it comes only for half an hour in the morning and evening, and we can’t predict on what day it will be,” said another resident. With only a narrow road leading up to the village, Varadharajapuram remains inaccessible to water tankers. “No one supplies water to this area on a mini truck or by any means, given the condition of the road and accessibility to the village,” said Sivaprakasham, a resident.
When contacted, a Tirumarugal block official said that they will look into the issue and arrange tanker supplies for the time being, as Jal Jeevan Mission water supply is yet to be connected and provided to the village. The official explained that currently, the scarcity of the water supplied by the panchayat is caused by the inadequate water resources.