Residents of Lalapettai village near Ranipet town blocked the Ponnai - Ranipet Main Road, which is maintained by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), on Sunday, April 14, 2024, demanding the resumption of regular water supply in their neighbourhood.
Lalapettai comprises nine wards near the Palar river, with 3,500 households. Water supply to households and street corner tanks has not been provided by the local panchayat for some days now -- residents in tail-end areas in wards 2,3, 6, 7 and 8 (of the nine wards) said they had not received water supply for many days.
With the temperature soaring in recent weeks, the residents have had to walk at least 5-10 kms to fetch a few pots of water from Ranipet and Nemili towns. “Most of the residents are farmers and their family members help in farm work. However, lack of water supply has forced women in the village discontinue farm work and travel to get water for domestic purposes,” said B. Shanti, a resident.
