Metro Water contaminated by drainage leak, officials don’t care, fume Kodungaiyur residents
Not all the households here have groundwater facility. Most families are completely dependent on CMWSSB water for cooking and drinking purposes.
Black water that flows out of a pipe inside a home at Ezhil Nagar, Kodungaiyur
CHENNAI: Several areas in Kodungaiyur lack proper water supply, and residents alleged that the drinking water supplied by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is contaminated with drainage leak.
“For the past 15 days, drinking water supplied by CMWSSB has been contaminated with drainage water. The stench from the water is unbearable,” lamented a resident in Ezhil Nagar, Kodungaiyur.
Not all the households here have groundwater facility. Most families are completely dependent on CMWSSB water for cooking and drinking purposes. “But due to this situation, we’re forced to buy packaged water cans, which is an additional burden on our family budget,” added the resident.
Another resident added: “Some children got diarrhoea on account of the contaminated water supply. Despite several complaints, CMWSSB officials have not been bothered to take action.”
Councillor B Vimala, Ward 41, said other areas such as Sivaji Nagar and Thiruvalluvar Nagar were also facing the problem of poor water supply. “Residents do not receive drinking water most days in a month, as the CMWSSB is not properly supplying it with adequate pressure to reach the households,” she pointed out. “Also, the water pipes are 40 years old. So, damages in the pipeline are inevitable. That’s why sewage water mixed with drinking water. I’ve made several representations to the CMWSSB and also raised this issue in the Area Committee Meeting also, but in vain.”
When contacted CMWSSB officials hesitated to answer queries asked by this reporter as they claimed to be “busy with Independence Day works”.
