Poor public transport, irregular water supply exasperate Nambiyar Nagar residents

Nambiyar Nagar residents face severe water shortages and inadequate transport, impacting daily life in the fishermen's community.

A cross-section of residents of Nambiyar Nagar, a fishermen hamlet within the limits of the Nagapattinam municipality, has raised concerns over irregular drinking water supply and the lack of bus connectivity, which as caused persistent hardship to the nearly 1,400 families living in the area.

Residents said drinking water supplied through the Kollidam Integrated Water Supply Scheme reached the locality only once a week. Even then, the supply failed to reach the low-lying parts of the settlement where a majority of the residents lived.

“Nearly 1,200 houses are in low-lying areas and water does not reach them. Only around 100 houses situated in slightly elevated areas receive water through the pipeline,” said K. Vennila, a fisherwoman.

As a result, most residents depend on a common pipeline near the community hall to collect water.

“People gather near a pipe close to the community hall to collect water. Even that water is not of good quality,” said D. Selvarani, another resident.

Residents alleged that many households had not paid water tax to the municipality as it had not been collected from them for years.