Around 3,000 families residing in Kachinakuppam, a residential area bordering Chennai’s Ambattur’s industrial estate and Korattu, have been struggling with irregular water supply for the last five years. Repeated pleas to Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage (CMWSS) as well the Greater Chennai Corporation to ensure better water supply has fallen on deaf ears. The supply has waned so much that residents are shelling out heavy amounts to private water tankers and in many cases, consuming contaminated water.
TNM visited Kachinakuppam and the neighbouring areas. On the day of the visit, the metro water pipes were dry. Huge barrels were spotted outside almost every house, and the barrels were only half full. Jagadeeshwari, a resident, told TNM, “It has been three days since we last got water. We don’t know how long we must wait this time. If we are lucky, we get water in these pipes once every four days but sometimes it takes as many as ten days.”
Despite the issue having been raised by the respective ward councillor in at least two of the GCC council meetings this year and multiple complaints filed by the Village Welfare Association at Kachinakuppam, water supply has been scarce.
Even with some of the families having borewell connections, it is unreliable as they cannot vouch for the quality of the water due to groundwater contamination. Chitra, another resident, said, “A lot of factories operate out of the nearby industrial estate. The water pumped from the borewell is sometimes yellow in colour and is always very salty. It's mostly unreliable, so many of us who have a borewell connection in the Kanniyamman Koil street rely on the corporation’s water supply lines.” In the absence of water, the residents rely on private water lorries.
Chithra said that her water bill alone goes up to Rs 3,000 a month but that her income doesn’t manage to keep up with the expenditure. “I am a widow and my children are studying in college. I work as a house help, and my only other income is Rs 1,000 through the Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. My water expense alone comes close to half of my income,” she said. Her neighbour Bhavani, who does not have a borewell connection, told TNM that she spends close to Rs 5,000 to fill up barrels for her family of six.
Residents have resorted to storing water in containers for days, which has led to mosquito breeding. “We are prone to dengue and other diseases, but we have no option. When we store water for a few days together in the barrels, insects and mosquitoes breed on them, contaminating the water. But we are so desperate for water that we filter the insects and their eggs out, boil the water and consume it,” Bhavani explained.
J John, councillor of ward 84, said that complaint letters to the corporation and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage (CMWSS) went in vain. “There are housing board flats and other high-rise apartments nearby. They also had raised similar issues last year and CMWSS took their complaints seriously and fixed the supply. But in Kachinakuppam and the neighbouring slum settlements where lower middle class population reside, they are not taking action,” John complained.
N Rajmohan, the secretary of the welfare association and a resident, alleged that the corporation was not taking the complaint seriously as John is an AIADMK councillor.
A CMWSS official told TNM, “For Kachinakuppam, we can supply water only once in two or three days. We have submitted a proposal to facilitate a 100-metre pipe that can carry water every day. The required funds need to be sanctioned since it's a major interlink work stretching up to 1.5 km.” Mayor R Priya said that the proposed plan has been approved, but that the funds have not been sanctioned. “We have urged the CMWSS’s Managing Director to push this project soon,” Priya said.
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