Women with empty pots block road near busy Kulavanigarpuram manned railway level crossing for drinking water

Condemning the Corporation’s “inaction and turning a blind eye” towards their prolonged drinking water crisis, a group of residents of Kulavanigarpuram here staged a road roko near the Kulavanigarpuram manned level crossing near the Palayamkottai Central Prison on Tuesday.

Even as Tirunelveli Corporation Deputy Mayor K.R. Raju and officials were receiving petitions from the public at the Corporation during the weekly grievance redress meeting, women residents of Kulavanigarpuram in Ward 31 gathered near the manned railway level crossing around 10 a.m. and sat on the busy road, bringing vehicular traffic on the New Bus Stand-Palayamkottai Bus Stand stretch to a halt for a while.

The protesters said residents had been submitting petitions time and again, complaining about the problems they had been facing for the past several months owing to erratic drinking water supply due to alleged mismanagement by Corporation officials. When pressure from the public became intense, synthetic water tanks were installed at several places in the ward to supply drinking water to residents.

“Now, only air is blowing out from these synthetic water tanks, which were installed with much fanfare. While the neighbouring Thoothukudi Corporation is promising its residents daily drinking water supply, this urban civic body, which is sitting on the bank of the perennial Tamirabharani river, is cheating the residents even after collecting hefty property tax from us,” the protesting women alleged.

After the police pacified the women, the agitation was withdrawn. However, none from the Corporation turned up at the protest venue to hold talks with the agitated women.

Meanwhile, members of the Masjid-Ur-Rahim Mosque Jamath submitted a petition at the Corporation seeking immediate repair of Reddiyarpatti Road, which has remained badly damaged for more than six years owing to the prolonged underground drainage work.

The petitioners said more than 10,000 residents of Raja Nagar, Mohammed Nagar, Haq Nagar, Thaai Nagar, Danish Colony, Kareem Nagar, Rose Nagar, Engineers’ Colony, Al-Ameen Nagar and Amirtha Nagar had been using Reddiyarpatti Road in its worst condition for more than six years after it was dug up for underground drainage works.

The road is also used daily by students of two major matriculation higher secondary schools, besides the public visiting three marriage halls and places of worship.

Though the pipelines and manholes had been laid, the Corporation had not relaid the busy road despite repeated appeals from residents, causing severe hardship to road users. The situation worsens during the rainy season as rainwater stagnates at several places along the damaged road.

The Corporation should relay or at least repair the road before the onset of the northeast monsoon and take steps to drain rainwater along the road, the petitioners said.

The Social Democratic Party of India submitted a petition seeking the desilting of the canal along the road connecting Old Pettai and Pettai before the northeast monsoon to avert flooding in nearby Adam Nagar, Rahmath Nagar and MGP Nagar.

On behalf of the Valarpirai Nala Sangam of Ward 52, a petition was submitted seeking reduction of the property tax fixed for houses in the ward. Another petition sought action to stop the washing of dead body freezer boxes and ambulances on a vacant plot in the midst of residential areas.

“Since washing the freezer boxes on this vacant plot after keeping the bodies may cause the spread of serious diseases, the Corporation should stop this practice,” the petitioners said.

Councillor U. Lakshmi of Ward 33 submitted a petition to the Deputy Mayor seeking impartial eviction of encroachments along all four roads around the Gandhi Market in Palayamkottai. She said bikes, cars and mini cargo vehicles were parked haphazardly throughout the day, even though a spacious parking lot had been created in the basement.