Citizen Connect: Stinking water in panchayat well forces Kovalam residents to travel four km for clean supply

The village panchayat located on East Coast Road (ECR) consists of nine wards with nearly 10,000 people. Most of them are fishermen. The area, which is near Mahabalipuram, is an important tourist spot in Tamil Nadu. Thousands of people from across the country and even foreign countries visit the place and stay at the beach resorts here every day.

The villagers in Kovalam said that they do not get clean water for their daily needs and the water which from the well which the panchayat constructed is unusable. The villagers added that they need to travel for nearly four km to Muthukadu to fetch water every day. Sources said that Kovalam panchayat was receiving water from Thaiyur village panchayat lake earlier. As the water needs increased the Kovalam panchayat constructed a well for Rs 8 lakh three years ago and disconnected their water supply from Thaiyur Lake.

The residents said that the water from the well was very salty and smelled bad from the time of its construction, while the water which was supplied from the Thaiyur lake was clean and they were using it for drinking and cooking purposes. The residents now have to buy water separately for drinking and cooking purposes. To procure water for other needs, villagers have to travel for four km till Muthukadu.

C Semanth Kumar from Kovalam said, “We had petitioned the Block Development Officer and the panchayat officials several times. We even staged a protest in front of their office but they have not taken any steps yet.”

When contacted, Kovalam village panchayat secretary K Suresh said, “We had cleaned the well last year after receiving complaints from residents. But the quality of the water hasn’t improved yet. We are planning to construct a new well at a different location and the works would soon begin.”