CPCL lays pipes via fishing hamlet, draws people’s ire

Poongothai, one of the residents of the hamlet, said that the company is laying the underground pipelines, without seeking the permission from the residents. 

“There are around 1,500 families living in the village. The underground pipeline runs through our residential areas. The villagers were not consulted before the company started the project works.

 When we asked the officials how they would identify a leakage, they crudely said that they would figure it out when it happens. They had given Rs 35 lakh to the village council, so each person gets Rs. 3,000. 

We don’t want the money. We don’t want the pipelines running through our homes, endangering our safety,” she said, adding that if their complaints are not acted upon, they will return with a thousand women from the village. The women folk from the fishing hamlet filed a complaint against CPCL, in a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police. 

“CPCL has bribed the council members to cover up the issue. The representatives of the company are troubling the people to vacate their homes, till the pipes are laid, sometimes using abusive language,” read the statement. 

Officials from CPCL said that the issue has been sorted out but when pressed for details, they refused to comment. Sixty-five-year-old Renuka Devi, another resident, said, “The work has been going on for the past three months but over the last 10 days, we are being threatened by the officials to move. Where will we go? We don’t want the pipelines running through our homes.”