PWD installs additional borewell in Walajah court after water crisis disrupts proceedings

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The Public Works Department (PWD) has installed a high-powered borewell in the District Munsif cum Magistrate Court at Walajah town in Ranipet on Thursday to provide an uninterrupted water supply to the complex.

The action by PWD brought relief for hundreds of litigants, who are mostly farmers and petty traders from remote villages, after advocates stayed away from court proceedings for nearly a week against the disruption of the water supply to the complex by the civic body. “A new borewell in the court premises is a welcome measure because lack of water supply affects everyone, including court staff, advocates and litigants,” said S. Veeraiyan, a litigant.

At present, the British-era District Court in Walajah has magistrate and munsif courts in two-storey buildings on the spacious premises. Among the five major courts in the district, including Ranipet, Arakkonam, Arcot and Sholinghur, Walajah court is the oldest facility established in the early 1920s.

Against this backdrop, the existing borewell was installed in 1998 when the new building for the court complex was rebuilt. Pipelines were connected to the Overhead Tank (OHT), which has a capacity of around 15,000 litres. Since then, the borewell has remained a key source to meet water needs in the court complex. 

Every day, on average, more than 200 litigants, mostly from Walajah taluk, visit the court. Around 120 advocates are working as regular practitioners. On average, over 150 cases come up in the court every day. At present, the court requires at least 5,000 litres of water to meet its everyday needs. The borewell has become dry due to the depletion of groundwater in the area. Walajah municipality has provided water to the court twice a week since 2025.

Key water pipelines that supply water to the court complex were damaged nearly a fortnight ago. Since then, the court had to depend on private tanker lorries to meet its needs. “Agitated advocates decided to stay away from court proceedings until a permanent solution is found for the water crisis. The new borewell will help us to meet water needs in the court,” said K. Elangovan, President, Bar Association (Walajah).

PWD officials said that the new borewell has been laid to a depth of 400 metres to ensure an uninterrupted water supply to the court buildings. High-powered pump sets will be installed to operate the borewell. The entire work will be completed in two days.