Chennai: Amidst the acute water shortage in Chrompet, residents are worried as the ground water is getting mixed with sewage in various places.
Jayashree, a resident of Srinivasapuram, says, “The tap water is brown in colour. This is what we use everyday for cooking, bathing and washing utensils. This is because the drainage system, that was constructed to collect the rain water is being used to drain sewage for several years. Now that the canal is clogged, the stagnant residue ends up mixing with the ground water.”
She adds, “This is the reason for all the health ailments caused in recent days. Every single person in my family has fallen sick. Many of our neighbours are also in the same situation. One of them has even moved out for the time being.”
According to Lalitha, another resident, “We believe that this problem is because of clogged drainage in the sides of the streets. Apart from this, mosquito menace is also bothering us.”
V Santhanam, a resident of New Colony, states, “People living in nearby areas have raised a complaint to the resident welfare association, as the tap water is black, due to the contamination of the underground table. Without knowing this, many residents continue to fill their overhead tanks with the help of motors and this polluted water starts flowing through the taps. RO systems too get damaged due to this.” Residents want concerned officials to take immediate action and bring a solution to this problem.