Even after Vaigai dam crossed 40 ft following recent rain, drinking water supply in several core areas remains restricted to once in three to four days.
Madurai : Drinking water supply remains disrupted in several core city neighbourhoods despite the Vaigai reservoir staying above 40 feet and more than 85 cusecs being released daily over the past two weeks. At Lakshmi Sundaram Enclave in Kalavasal, a residential community with 160 units, corporation water supply has stopped completely for the past 10 days without prior notice. Because the highways department had not permitted roads to be dug for laying pipelines, corporation engineers said expansion of the newer network had been delayed at several locations.
Local engineers informally told us Vaigai storage was inadequate,” Residents’ Welfare Association president K Dhanasekaran said. Corporation engineers attributed the disruptions to inadequate pressure in the older network, damaged pipelines and depleted riverbed sources. “We complained to the corporation commissioner and the MLA, but there has been no action. Residents have since been forced to depend on alternative sources. Residents supplied through the new Mullaperiyar drinking water scheme have largely escaped the disruptions, prompting those dependent on the older Vaigai network to seek a switch.