Chennai: Stir over erratic water supply

Chennai: Irked over the poor supply of drinking water for the past three months, villagers staged a protest and detained a government bus here near Madurantakam in the district on Friday. The bus plies between Selaiyur and Madurantakam.

Thachur, a remote village in Madurantakam union holds a population of 500 families.

Due to the decline of the groundwater table, two borewells among the five overhead water tanks which are the primary source of drinking water for the villagers failed, and the remaining three tanks are not functioning because of a technical snag.

Villagers were upset after officials kept ignoring their requests to supply adequate drinking water. They are forced to travel another 1km to Anaikattu village for their water needs.

Infuriated by the apathy of officials, around 100 villagers with empty pots blockaded a government bus.

The Anaikattu police and the Madurantakam police reportedly rushed to the spot and held talks with the protesters.

Villagers ended their protest after two hours only after police and revenue officials promised to resolve the drinking water issue within a couple of days. The officials then arranged water tankers to meet the villagers' water needs.