COIMBATORE: Nine revenue villages within the Pattanam Panchayat within the Sulur taluk of Coimbatore district have been facing acute scarcity of drinking water, with people getting it only once in 25 days. A fivefold rise in population and water supply as per old estimates have been blamed for the shortage in the area lying in the periphery of Coimbatore city and other urban areas.
The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board has been supplying 5-6 lakh litres of water per day, while the panchayat needs more than 12 lakh litres to meet the demand.
Officials said the sudden rise in population in the last three years is a significant reason for the increased demand. Residents too claimed the drinking water is not supplied in accordance with population growth.
This village panchayat, comprising 12 wards, has a population of more than 35,000.
The nine villages here are: Pattanam, Pattanam Pudur, Nagammanayakkanpalayam, Kaveri Nagar, Venkateshwara Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar, Murugan Nagar, As Nagar and Ishwarya Nagar.
"Drinking water is supplied from the Pillur water scheme. While other panchayats receive water once a week, it is delayed here to once every 20 to 25 days. The quantity of drinking water supplied should be increased to make the supply regular.
We have been demanding for more than three years that the water scarcity be addressed, but it has not been addressed yet. As summer approaches, water scarcity will become a major issue, and it will reflect in the election," said S Santhosh, a resident of Pattanam.
The TWAD Board distributes a maximum of 6 lakh litres of water daily from the Pillur I water scheme to Pattnam. However, the panchayat Secretary Saravanakumar, said the demand was twice more, and they need more than 12 lakh litres of water to cover the entire panchayat.
"There are 8200 house connections in the panchayat, and the available water is being distributed for 90 minutes in each area. It takes around 20 days to ensure the water distribution to all areas. If we get more water, then we can shrink the distribution circle under 10 days, and it will be easy for the residents to manage the shortage.
The neighbouring areas, which fall under the Town Panchayats of Pallapalayam and Vellalore and the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation limits, get sufficient drinking water, but the people in Pattanam alone face the scarcity," he rued.
He points to the spurt in population in the last three years for the heightened water demand. As the panchayat is located next to the Corporation limits, many have settled in the Pattanam Panchayat limits, especially in the last three years. The entire panchayat became a hot spot for property development with several new residential areas emerging, leading to demand-supply mismatch in water supply.
A senior official from the TWAD Board also said the same. "The water supply scheme was initiated in 1995 and augmented in 2010. When it was designed, the department predicted the population of the Pattanam village panchayat in 2025 would be around 7,500.
The water distribution level was set according to the estimated population. However unpredictably, the population rose fivefold. As the intermediate scheme has ended, we have given a proposal to the department for a new water scheme based on the current demand," said the officer.
"Actual allocation for Pattanam is 3.74 lakh litres per day from Pillur I scheme. However, we have been offering upto 6 lakh litres to manage the demand. We have also informed the district administration to find a better solution for the issue. Either it will be merged with the corporation or additional water sources will be provided," the officer added.