The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It's no cola, it's the water supplied in Korattur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 13, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It's no cola, it's the water supplied in Korattur

By K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI, JULY 12. Water-starved Korattur residents are supplied water every alternate day by the Ambattur municipality, but they have a problem: the water turns a deep orange within a few minutes.

Residents of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board Colony, Korattur, have tried to boil the water for drinking. Says G. Janaki, "I boiled the water and allow the sediments to settle at the bottom so that it can be used for cooking. But, it has a metallic taste and an oily substance floats on surface. Vegetables cooked in the water turn dark and unappetizing."

Another resident said that though he tried treating the water by mixing alum, it could be used only for bathing and washing.

According to residents, the water supplied is from a borewell sunk near the Ayapakkam Lake. With the wells in Korattur drying up and borewells failing, residents have no option but to depend on the municipal supply. Apart from paying Rs. 65 as water tax, the residents buy water from private suppliers for up to Rs. 800 every month.

Drinking water has always been a problem for Korattur residents as the groundwater is heavily contaminated by sewage.

Residents demand that water be either supplied through hand pumps or through pipelines from the tank at Korattur that is lying unused for three years now.

Many areas falling under the municipality also receive poor quality water. While some areas such as Sakthi Nagar at Padi receive water once in a week, Varadarajapuram and Vijayalakshmipuram get poor quality water.

"The water supplied is not clear for the past one year. But, it could at least be used after boiling," said a resident of Varadarajapuram. Now, it can only be used for washing.

Ward 24 councillor, G. Vijaya, said 25 streets in her ward were receiving poor quality water despite complaints to the authorities.

When residents took a sample of the water for a test, the Government as well as private-owned laboratories refused to test it. A resident said that laboratory officials told them that they had orders not to test the sample.

A hydrogeologist of State Ground and Surface Water Resources Data Centre, Public Works Department, said the water turns reddish or orange in colour due to excess iron content and consuming it might lead to health problems, including indigestion and constipation. "Such changes occur when people dig deep borewells and over extract groundwater without much recharge," he said.

The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board suspended its supply of about 10 lakhs litres a day to municipalities since February 1. The local bodies were asked to tackle the water crisis on their own.

The Ambattur Municipality hired private tankers and sunk borewells in the Ayapakkam and Ambattur lakes to augment supply.

But, it was struggling to meet the demand as water became brackish in several areas, a municipal official said.

Another official said the issue was not brought to the local body's notice. Action would be taken to provide better quality of water, he said.

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