Traffic on Erode-Sathyamangalam highway affected as residents stage protest

COIMBATORE: Around 100 residents of Veerappan Sathiram in Erode took to the roads on Sunday morning to protest against the lack of drinking water.
The road blockade resulted in a traffic snarl on the Erode-Sathyamangalam highway that lasted for more than an hour.
The blockade took place around 9am. K Sekhar, a protester, told TOI that the area had been receiving drinking water only once in every 15 days for the past two years.“Earlier, water used to come every three days but that is not the case anymore,” said Sekhar.
The lack of water has been forcing many families to depend on mineral water, he said. “Drinking water is not only consumed but also used for cooking and because we have no facility to store water for 15 days, we have to purchase water.”
As the road roko had brought the traffic to a halt on the Erode-Sathyamangalam highway, police and the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board officials reached the spot to speak to the residents and assured them of immediate action.
Residents said they had approached the city municipal corporation many times to resolve the problem but nothing was done about it. “We will try to regularize the supply of water in the area and if there’s any problem we will send lorries,” said a TWAD board official.