INDIA: Plea to monitor water supply from Hogenakkal project in Tamil Nadu

[pfpcnews]

NOTE: It's been 40 since the Hogenakkal drinking water scheme was conceived, and people in Dharmapuri are still not getting clean water!

Plea to monitor water supply from Hogenakkal project in Tamil Nadu

A major part of the Dharmapuri town and town panchayats relies on the water supply from the Hogenakkal Drinking Water and Fluorosis Mitigation Project (HDWFMP).

By Jevin Selwyn Henry

DHARMAPURI: With summer approaching, residents of Dharmapuri and other parts of the district urged the administration to regulate the supply of drinking water from the Hogenakkal project. They also complained about the supply of water with fluoride content and urged panchayats and municipalities to provide safe drinking water.

A major part of the Dharmapuri town and town panchayats relies on the water supply from the Hogenakkal Drinking Water and Fluorosis Mitigation Project (HDWFMP). The groundwater in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri has fluoride content between 1.5 -12.4 milligrams per liter (mg/l) which is well above the WHO guideline value which is 1 mg/l. In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government set up the Hogenakkal at a cost of Rs 1,928 crore to ensure that people are provided with clean drinking water.

The main aim of this project was to prevent people from consuming fluoride-rich groundwater as prolonged consumption of this would lead to fluorosis. However, despite the scheme, poor-quality drinking water is being supplied, say public. Residents claimed the water supplied from the Hogenakkal project has polluted groundwater too.

Speaking to TNIE, District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Agriculturist Farmers Association J Prathapan explained how this admixture happens. “In most cases, each panchayat uses borewells to pump water into tanks which are specified to store Hogenakkal drinking water. When the Tamil Nadu Water Supply And Drainage Board (TWAD) supplies clean Hogenakkal water, the water mixes with the groundwater. This has resulted in severe deterioration of the water quality. The main problem is there is no monitoring of the quality of water. While TWAD does supply good water, the panchayat’s negligence has resulted in such mixing that beats the very purpose of the fluorosis mitigation project”, he said.

K Selvaraj, a resident of Dharmapuri town, said, “Most residents in the municipal limits own an RO unit as the water supplied has a bitter aftertaste. While the municipality claims that clean water is provided from Panchapalli or the Hogenakkal Drinking Water scheme, this is not true. There are over a dozen tanks of the municipality where groundwater is stored and supplied to residents. We urge the municipality to stop the practice and provide clean drinking water.”

R Anbalagan, a resident from the Palacode town panchayat, said, “Usually we are provided with water every day, but we do not get Hogenakkal water every day. Once every two days, the town panchayat provides us with groundwater. We cannot blame them also as the district faces severe water shortage, especially in the summer. While it is true that there is a risk of fluorosis, it is better than not getting any water,” he said.

TWAD engineers said, “Collectively, we ensure that both Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri receive over 170 million of liters per day (MLD) of water. We do not monitor how the water is used in the panchayat or the municipality. It is not our role. We ensure clean water is provided.”

SOURCE:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states ... tamil-nadu