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Packaged drinking water units strike enters 3rd day, city stares at scarcity
Municipal Admin Minister SP Velumani says State govt will initiate action as per HC directive
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
With the packaged drinking water production units in the State continuing their indefinite strike, which started on Thursday, residents, especially in the cities, are deprived of proper drinking water.
“From the day I moved to the city, I depend on can water for cooking and drinking. As we are from a rural area, we were getting pure water there. But in the city, drinking water supplied by Metro Water is yellowish in colour and bears heavy chlorine smell. For the past two days, we are managing with only two cans of purified water,” V Priya, a resident of Choolaimedu said.
Not only Priya but also several residents in the city, dependent on the packaged drinking water are left with no option other than using Metro Water. Meanwhile, suppliers of packaged drinking water are also baffled as they are unable to meet the demand from their customers. “I used to get water cans from the Chinmaya Nagar unit. The owner of the unit called me and asked to take the available water cans on Friday morning,” K Senthil, a supplier in Kodambakkam said.
Owners of the water units are waiting for government intervention so they could start operation. “We are trying to approach the government but are yet to get any response. Even the public is suffering,” V Murali, the founder of Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturing Units Association, said. The Madras HC on Thursday ordered the government to prevent illegal extraction of groundwater and directed to shut down the units exploiting groundwater resource. Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani on Saturday said the State government would follow the High Court order with regard to the indefinite strike by packaged and can drinking water units.
In statewide crackdown, 73 illegal units sealed in central TN; 5 in Kancheepuram
After the Madras High Court order on closure of illegal water units, officials from the Ground Water Division of Public Works Department (PWD) carried out an enforcement drive on Saturday across the central region and sealed 73 packaging units and bore wells.
Based on the HC order, the government directed each Collector to begin inspection at their respective districts and crackdown on illegal units. Subsequently, the Ground Water Division organised an inspection across the region. According to officials, permission for functioning of drinking water packaging unit is denied for blocks with over-exploitation and critical groundwater level while packaged units are allowed to operate in blocks with safe groundwater table. However, PWD licence is mandatory.
On Saturday, officials organised simultaneous raids across the region and sealed 23 units in Tiruchy. “We have sealed bore wells that were taping water illegally in the presence of the management and thus they may not be able to operate,” an official told DT Next. Officials sealed 16 units in Nagapattinam, 15 in Pudukkottai, eight in Karur, six in Tiruvarur and five in Perambalur. The officials will visit Thanjavur on Sunday. Similarly, a few more units from these districts would be sealed on Sunday.
“Among them more than 50 per cent have been functioning without licence and others running with expired ones,” the official said, adding, sealing would continue till Monday and the report shall be submitted before HC on Tuesday. Similar raids were conducted in other parts of the State and hundreds of such units sealed.
Revenue officials sealed five illegal private water bottling plants in Kancheepuram on Saturday. The team, headed by sub-collector Saravanan found the five plants functioning without licence in Timasamuthiram, Kavalur, Avalur and Sevilimedu and the tahsildar was ordered to seal the plants. A search is on to nab the owners of the factories.
Packaging units strike: Booking for Metro Water tanker on the rise
Two days since the packaged drinking water production units in the city went on an indefinite strike, its impact is evident, with the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water) is receiving more bookings seeking tanker lorry water. According to a Metro Water official, the average daily bookings that used to be about 1,200 to 1,250 has gone up to 1,300 in the last two days. “However, we cannot attribute the increase only to the ongoing strike; the onset of summer may also be a reason,” an official said.
When asked whether it is receiving calls from the residents seeking more water, the official said that the board was supplying a sufficient amount of drinking water. He added that they have not received any complaints so far, and noted that there was enough water in the city reservoirs. Presently, the Metro Water is supplying 650 million litres per day (MLD).
The strike has not just hit households but every section of the society dependent on the packaged drinking water (20-litre bubble top can). “I use to play cricket every day during the weekends at privately maintained grounds in the city. Usually the organisers would provide packaged drinking water to the players. But after the strike, they are asking us to bring water from home,” said M Khalid, a local cricketer. Urging the government to regulate and licence water purification units, several associations of packaged drinking water production units announced an indefinite strike from Thursday evening after the Madras High Court directed that the units without permission should be shut down.
The district authorities started to close the water units without permission and are extracting groundwater. Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Cuddalore and Tiruchy officials have sealed more than 300 units in the last few days.
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