The mention of Madhavaram often brings up images of a serene locality that is home to mango groves, a milk dairy, and green cover. With rapid urbanisation changing the landscape of Chennai’s northern suburbs, residents are looking forward to piped water supply to meet their daily needs.
Madhavaram is one of the areas now merged into Zone 3 of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Long-time residents of the burgeoning locality recall that Madhavaram had abundant groundwater reserves about three decades ago and was a much-preferred locality for those who looked for a pollution-free environment. However, the surge in residential and commercial property development underscores the need for faster implementation of infrastructure projects to match the growing demands of the urban population.
Old pipeline damaged
Residents say some areas in Madhavaram were served by an old pipeline network created by the erstwhile municipality. However, it was damaged during the storm water drain construction. Though work on new lines started a few years ago, it has run into problems.
J. Ravi, a resident of Kilburn Nagar, says a comprehensive drinking water and sewer network is the long-pending demand in the locality and connections are yet to be given in some parts. “Many of the mango groves have been replaced with high-rise buildings. We had a rich groundwater table till the late 1990s. The groundwater was available at a depth of just 20 feet. Now, people sink bore-wells to a minimum depth of 100 feet,” he says.
Turns saline
While the groundwater level has rapidly declined in areas like Madhavaram Milk Colony, some areas like Kilburn Nagar and Seethapathy Street still have water at a few feet below the ground. But the groundwater has turned saline, residents say.
Many households are meeting their drinking water needs with packaged water and water purifiers. Residents want the drinking water network to be executed soon. S. Jayachandran, a resident of Thapalpetti, says quicker implementation of the scheme will help residents dependent on private suppliers. “We have the groundwater available at a depth of 20 feet in open wells. But the water is not potable. Piped supply will help prevent health risks due to high salinity in the groundwater,” he said.
Metrowater has completed laying the water network at some places in Zone 3. Work is in progress for a trial run. Water supply is set to be provided in 10 days from some of the overhead tanks at Kilburn Nagar and Pukhraj Nagar.
Though the work is over at Thanikachalam Nagar, the operation of the network is waiting for the completion of the Water Resources Department’s project to improve the Thanikachalam drain, which carries surplus water to the Kodungaiyur drain.
Each overhead tank can store 20 lakh litres. Areas like Madhavaram Milk Colony, Alex Nagar, and Bank Colony also have the overhead tanks. In division 29 alone, the water agency has a network in place to provide 11.04 million litres a day to a population projected for 2027. A pipeline network running 53,534 metres has been laid and about 3,552 house service connections are expected to be provided.
A drinking water project is being implemented in division 31 at a cost of ₹2.71 crore. It will be completed by June this year.
Drainage network
Officials say Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid the foundation in March for an underground drainage network in various divisions covering Mathur, Vadaperumbakkam, Puzhal, and streets that go without any network at Madhavaram, at a cost of ₹1,072 crore.
The network to cover 1,004 streets in these areas would help to resolve the issue of sewage pollution in the neighbouring waterbodies and waterways. Nearly 1.30 lakh residents will benefit from the project and 18,581 sewer connections are expected to be provided.
In Madhavaram, sewer lines would be laid to a distance of 99.83 km to convey 13.56 mld of sewage to the Kodungaiyur sewage treatment plant. Nearly 1.18 lakh Madhavaram residents are estimated to be covered under the scheme, officials say.
Residents of Manali and Chinnasekkadu, too, find it difficult to get safe drinking water. P.K. Thenkanal Isaimozhi, a Manali New Town resident, says, “The groundwater is available at a depth of 40 feet-50 feet. The industrial belt around our area has a deep impact on the groundwater quality for many years now. We fear using the groundwater even for non-potable purposes and rely on Metrowater and private supply.”
Metrowater supply dips
Residents say Metrowater’s supply has dipped in some areas in the past two months. The residents here make do with packaged drinking water and tanker supplies. “More buildings are being constructed by Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board at Manali. The water agency must increase its supply. The sewer lines being laid will help to reduce issues of sewage in the area, especially during the monsoon,” Mr. Isaimozhi says.
According to Metrowater, nearly 90% of the water supply schemes, worth ₹32.33 crore, in Manali and Chinnasekkadu (divisions 18, 20, and 21) have been completed. These areas will be supplied with nearly 21 mld of water. The problems with the contractor are being sorted out to accelerate the work and lay up connections to about 9,000 houses.
The construction of a comprehensive sewer network, worth ₹238.52 crore, at Idayanchavadi, Kadapakkam, and Sadayankuppam in the Manali zone was started in March. Officials say these localities will get about 4,000 house connections. A project is in progress in divisions 18, 20, 21, and 22 to build a network that would handle nearly eight mld of sewage. Nearly 75%-80% of the work has been completed. The water agency plans to operate the sewer infrastructure by September this year.
