Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Pallavaram residents allege water piracy

By K. Manikandan

CHENNAI, AUG. 26. Residents of Muthusamy Nagar and nearby areas staged a demonstration in front of the Pallavaram Municipality today.

They were protesting against the inaction of government agencies in the face of indiscriminate extraction of groundwater from farm wells in their localities.

The residents of suburban colonies in and around Pallavaram, such as Muthusamy Nagar, Kuppu Naickenpettai and Manikandan Nagar, said that water levels in their domestic wells had dipped sharply in the last year.

J. Narayanan, a resident of Muthusamy Nagar, said that because of the indiscriminate pumping from a farm well close to his house, the well in his house, which used to have 15 feet of water, now had only three feet of water.

One of the first residents to build a house in Muthusamy Nagar, Mr. Narayanan alleged that tanker drivers, fleet owners and even some elected representatives threatened the residents if they protested. Fearing physical assault by the water tanker operators, they did not even complain to the police or seek police protection.

Pleas in vain

Residents said there were about a dozen farm wells in their area and the tankers made several hundred trips daily. Some of them draw water even well past midnight. They have been appealing to the Kancheepuram Collectorate, Tambaram taluk officials and the Pallavaram Municipality for the past one year to stop the indiscriminate drawal of water, but all of them have been in vain. This was the reason for today's protest, they said.

Leading the procession, V. Santhanam, president, Federation of Residents Welfare Associations of Pallavaram Municipality, said that all the residents had installed rainwater harvesting in their houses. ``But it is of no benefit to residents. We feel cheated. Is it (RWH) for residents or the water pirates?'' he asked.

The processionists gathered on the Grand Southern Trunk Road and walked to the office of the Pallavaram Municipality. They raised slogans demanding immediate action against private water tanker operators. Women demonstrators brought plastic pots and carried placards criticising inaction by government agencies.

Municipality officials, who received petitions from the residents, said it was not within their powers to take action against the water tanker operators. The residents' grievances would be sent to the Tambaram tahsildar, they said.

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