Dharmapuri, July 5 (IANS) Residents in several rural and urban pockets of Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district have reported irregular drinking water supply under the Hogenakkal Drinking Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project, raising concerns over reduced availability of potable water as inflows to the Hogenakkal reservoir continue to decline.

The project, one of Tamil Nadu’s largest protected drinking water schemes, supplies water to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts and serves as the primary source of drinking water for lakhs of residents. However, people in several areas say the frequency and duration of water supply have reduced in recent weeks, forcing many households to cope with longer gaps between supplies.

Residents in rural parts of the district said water, which was earlier supplied daily, is now reaching some localities only once every two or three days. They also claimed that the duration of supply has been reduced significantly, making it difficult for families to store sufficient water for daily needs.

With groundwater levels also falling due to inadequate rainfall, many villages have few alternative sources of drinking water. In parts of Dharmapuri municipality, residents said they have not been receiving water from the Hogenakkal scheme regularly and are instead being supplied through the Panchapalli water project. They alleged that the alternative supply is of comparatively poorer quality and is available only on alternate days, adding to the hardship faced by consumers.

Concerns have also been raised over the management of water distribution at the local level. Public representatives and residents have alleged that groundwater is being mixed with treated Hogenakkal water in several local bodies to meet demand.

They argued that such practices dilute the benefits of the fluorosis mitigation project, which was designed to provide safe, treated drinking water to areas historically affected by high fluoride levels in groundwater.

Officials associated with the Hogenakkal water supply project, however, maintained that there has been no reduction in the quantity of water being produced or supplied. They said the project continues to deliver around 145 million litres per day to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts despite lower inflows at Hogenakkal.

According to officials, additional filtration measures have been introduced because of the changing water conditions, while responsibility for ensuring equitable distribution to consumers rests with the respective local bodies.

–IANS

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