Ramanathapuram
A large number of women from Landai Karungulam, who were staging a road roko on the Ramanathapuram – Paramakudi national highway, protesting against drinking water shortage, held up Minister for Information Technology M. Manikandan when he was on the way to Paramakudi on Monday.
The women detained the Minister’s convoy when Mr. Manikandan was on the way to Paramakudi to accompany Sadan Prabakaran, party nominee for the Paramakudi Assembly by-election while filing nominations.
After the Minister came down from his car and enquired about their problems, the women said they had been facing drinking water problem for about a year and blamed the elected representative (Actor Karunas, leader of Mukkulathor Pulipadai, who won on AIADMK’s two leaves symbol) and government officials for turning blind eye to their woes.
They complained to the Minister that their repeated petitions to the Collector, officials and local body officials went in vain and they were forced to fetch water in taps after crossing the national highway, risking their lives.
Pointing that their village fell under Thiruvadanai Assembly constituency, held by Mr. Karunas, Mr Manikandan called up officials and directed them to address the problems forthwith. After he assured to resolve the issue, the agitating people allowed his convoy to pass through.
R. Shanthi, 38, said after the residents staged a series of protests, stating that they never got drinking water supplied under the Cauvery combined water scheme, the officials had made alternative arrangements and supplied bore-well water from Panaikulam after treating the water in Reserve Osmosis units.
The officials, however, located the water taps about 20 ft down on the other side of the highway and they risked their lives in fetching the water, M. Amaravathi, 40, said. The three taps were installed one each for 100 families, she said. As the water was supplied for limited time, they fetched water after drawing of lots, she said.