The Hindu : Front Page : “Replace old pipelines soon”

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Thursday, Sep 27, 2007
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“Replace old pipelines soon”

Staff Reporter

Complaints of sewage mixing with drinking water
Mayor reprimands officials

MADURAI: Corporation Commissioner D.J. Dinakkaren, on Wednesday, ordered officials to replace old pipelines to prevent sewage mixing with drinking water.

He was responding to complaints of erratic water supply and drinking water getting mixed with sewage from several councillors at the council meeting here on Wednesday.

South Zone Chairman A. Manickam showed a bottle of brownish water to prove his point. “Despite a complaint registered two months back, the officials could not stop this,” he said. Mayor G. Thenmozhi reprimanded the officials for their lackadaisical attitude. “How can they (people) drink this water.”

When an engineer said that the problem would be attended to within 15 days, Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan countered him asking, “Do you expect the people to drink it till then.” Intervening, the Commissioner asked the officials to change all the problematic pipelines on a war footing.

MLAs S.S. Ghouse Basha (Madurai Central) and K.S.K. Rajendran (Madurai West) wanted the Corporation to expedite the process of shifting the central vegetable market outside the city and set a deadline for the same.

“Ready to quit”

Mr. Mannan said that he and the Mayor were ready to quit their posts if the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was ready to prove a corruption charge against them. AIADMK leader P. Salamuthu said that a private party had reportedly said that he could construct a building (without Corporation approval) as he had got permission from the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Mr. Salamuthu also complained that a contractor was paying the contract workers poorly.

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