Complaints of drinking water scarcity have begun to resurface in Manapparai and neighbouring villages.
The Manapparai municipality, which has no local sources, solely depends on the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) for drinking water. The town gets water supply from the Cauvery riverbed at Manathattai in Kulithalai taluk in Karur district. In addition to Manapparai, the TWAD takes care of supplying water to about 50 wayside habitations from Manathattai. The pump house has an installed capacity of 3.05 million litres daily (MLD).
Residents complaint that they get water supply only once in three to five days. The residents have to wait for many days recently due to disruption in the pumping. The civic body managed the situation by supplying drinking water through private tankers. Though there are some improvements in the water supply in the recent past, it is said that the civic body continued to face constrain in ensuring smooth supply of water.
According to sources, out of 3.05 MLD of installed capacity, TWAD maintains around 1.5 MLD to 1.7 MLD daily, thereby leading to short supply of drinking water to the residents of the municipality and wayside habitations. The town requires at least 2.5 MLD. But the current supply is far from meeting the requirement.
To ensure a smooth supply of water, the TWAD implemented a scheme to replace the old pipelines and distribution lines from the source. However, there were instances of bursts along the newly laid pipelines too. It is claimed that it was the main reason for the recent problems in drinking water supply.
When contacted E.R. Balasubramanian, Commissioner of Manapparai Municipality, told The Hindu that there were some technical glitches in the rejuvenated system. Hence, the water supply was being managed through the old pump sets. The supply would improve once the glitches were resolved.
He said there would be no major issues over drinking water for residents during the summer. The Commissioner of Municipal Administration had given instructions to prepare an action plan to overcome issues if any in the summer. Details of hand pumps, mini bores and wells had been collected. Steps would be taken to make all hand pumps functional, Mr. Balasubramanian added.
