Residents of Kasturba Nagar in Adyar can no longer depend on the Metrowater for their drinking needs, since the water that is supplied to their houses is allegedly contaminated with sewage and therefore unfit for drinking purposes, reports Times of India.
For the residents of the neighbourhood, it would mean an additional expenditure of Rs. 5000 every month to satisfy their need for drinking water. Metrowater officials are attempting to find the source of the problem, have dug up different portions of the road to inspect underground pipleline. They are however, yet to discover the point of contamination, according to the report.
Homemaker and resident S Shanthi tells ToI, "We have not been able to use water supplied by Metrowater for any purpose. It has turned black, and reeks of sewage." At least a hundred families are allegedly suffering water shortage due to this contamination.
Residents of the locality also say that now they have to spend more money buying expensive packaged drinking water.
Metrowater officials meanwhile claim to have rectified the situation in two streets.
This is not the first complaint of water contamination in the city. Even residents of poll-bound RK Nagar, claim that they water they receive at home is a 'dirty brown' colour and carries a foul smell. Changing the water pipelines and ensuring clean drinking water has been one of the main demands in the constituency.
Meanwhile, Chennai is also facing a water crisis, with major lakes having dried up. Earlier this month, had cut water supply to 550 million litres a day from the usual 830 million litres. The water crisis has hit the city at a time when the state is witnessing one of its worst droughts ever, with farmers protesting seeking financial help following crop failure.