Residents of Ramanuja Koodam Street in Chennai’s Old Washermanpet have been forced to buy water from private tanker lorries after a public hand pump began supplying sewage-contaminated water for the past three weeks, according to a report by DT Next. Each pot costs Rs 15.
The contamination has followed the replacement of old drinking-water and sewage pipelines on the street. Residents said the pipeline work was completed about a month ago, but the water supplied through the street hand pump has since become heavily contaminated. The issue has added to a longer-running problem: locals said domestic hand pumps have supplied foul-smelling or discoloured water for nearly two years.
With the street hand pump no longer usable, residents have been walking about 500 metres to collect water from a public hand pump on Thangavel Pillar Street. Senior citizens and other residents have been affected by the additional distance, while households unable to collect sufficient water have turned to private tankers.
KC Krishna Moorthy, a senior citizen and long-time resident of Ramanuja Koodam Street, told DT Next that clear water had rarely been available through domestic hand pumps over the past two years. He said foul-smelling and discoloured water had also contaminated household storage sumps. Krishna Moorthy, who is a person with disability, said his wife now walks 500 metres each day to fetch water.
Residents have also raised concerns about the responsiveness of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Ramesh Ramadoss, another resident, alleged that officials provide assurances when complaints are lodged but do not resolve the problem. He said a single in-charge Assistant Engineer oversees the wider Ward 48 and demanded a dedicated engineer for critical water and sewerage complaints.
A CMWSSB official said the replacement of ageing drinking-water and sewage pipelines is being carried out under the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam scheme. The official said the work was nearing completion and was expected to be completed within two days.
The episode has placed residents in the gap between infrastructure replacement and reliable service delivery. Until the pipeline work is completed and the water supply is restored, households on the street remain dependent on a distant public source or paid private water. The CMWSSB’s stated next step is to complete the ongoing pipeline work within two days.
