Pallavaram water contamination: Annamalai slams DMK govt over administrative failure

CHENNAI: BJP state president K Annamalai on Friday alleged that the ruling DMK government is responsible for the contamination of drinking water in the Pallavaram area, which resulted in the deaths of three people.

Annamalai claimed that lab reports revealed the presence of coliform and E. coli bacteria in the drinking water supplied to the Pallavaram area.

He stated that the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board's quality control measures specify that drinking water should not contain these bacteria.

"The drinking water supplied in the Pallavaram area was sent for testing and the results have been received. However, the test results revealed the presence of these two bacteria, which are harmful to human life in the drinking water that is supplied in the Pallavaram area," he said in a social media post, quoting the lab reports.

The BJP leader accused Minister TM Anbarasan of attempting to shift the blame to the public, stating that the test results contradict his claims and point to administrative failures and mistakes rather than public negligence.

Annamalai demanded that Minister Anbarasan take responsibility for the three lives lost and apologise for his earlier statement.

He also urged the DMK government to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, identify the root causes of the contamination, and take corrective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

It may be recalled that on December 5, residents of Pillaiyar Kovil Street, Mariamman Kovil Street, and Nagaratna Street in Pallavaram, Tambaram Corporation were struck by a severe health crisis, with many experiencing vomiting, fainting, and diarrhoea, after consuming contaminated drinking water.

Over 30 individuals have been hospitalised and three residents succumbed to the illness.