Ernavoor residents struggle without water
Even as they battle the searing heat, the residents of Ernavoor complained that there was no drinking water supplied through the pipeline by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerages Board for the past four days. Despite lodging multiple complaints to the officials concerned, no action has been taken to rectify the situation, forcing them to purchase water at an exorbitant rate, alleged the people there.
For almost 13 years, the residents in Ernavoor have been paying water tax to the Metro Water Board. However, the piped drinking water supply to the residential areas in the locality started only from last year, said the people here.
“Now, during the peak summer season, the drinking water supply has been stopped for the past four days. Even the hand pump water supply is suspended. We have been dependent on Metro Water for drinking and domestic purposes,” said G Arokia Samy, a resident of Erneeswaran Nagar in Ernavoor.
Due to this, the people here are forced to purchase water for drinking and domestic purposes by spending a substantial amount of money, as private parties involved in the business are looking to make a tidy profit during this time of distress.
“We are daily labourers and cannot afford to buy water while also keep paying tax for drinking water that is not supplied properly,” rued K Venkatesh, another resident.
“Earlier, the piped water was contaminated. It was yellowish in colour with foul smell. We did try through the ‘Dial for Water’ facility to book tanker to supply water to us. But it takes more than two to three days to supply though our requirement is much more urgent than that,” added Venkatesh.
Residents alleged that they raised multiple complaints to the area engineer. Though officials always assure them that they will inspect the area, nothing has been done so far.
When contacted, a senior official with Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board assured that the officials in charge of the area would be instructed to rectify the situation at the earliest.