Tirunelveli Corporation officials receiving a petition during the grievance redress meeting held on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
Residents of an upper-middle-class area and an apartment complex in Tirunelveli have urged the Corporation to waive the drinking water tax, as the urban civic body has failed to supply drinking water to them for a prolonged period.
The residents of Pioneer Kumarasamy Nagar Extension in Ward 41, opposite the Veinthankulam new bus stand, submitted petitions to Corporation officials on Tuesday, saying around 100 houses had been without drinking water supply for four months.
They said repeated complaints to officials of the Melapalayam Zone of the Tirunelveli Corporation, Mayor G. Ramakrishnan, Deputy Mayor K.R. Raju, Commissioner Monika Rana, councillor Sangeetha and other senior officials had not yielded any result.
“While the neighbouring Ward 42 is getting surplus water, the residents of Ward 41 are being punished for having elected the councillor affiliated with the MDMK, it seems. Since the Corporation cannot provide us with drinking water for the tax we have paid for the past four months, it should be reimbursed to us immediately with interest. Above all, quick steps should be taken to restore drinking water supply to Pioneer Kumarasamy Nagar Extension. If we are left without drinking water, we will start a ‘no cooperation movement’ by not paying the tax and resist intensely any move by the Corporation against us for not paying the tax,” they said.
A similar petition was submitted by residents of an apartment in the ward. P. Annasamy, president of the Majestic Apartment Residents’ Welfare Association, said there had been no drinking water supply to the apartment, which housed 40 families, for the past five years, while residents of the neighbouring ward had adequate supply.
Though the residents had been paying the drinking water tax regularly, the Corporation had failed to address their complaints, he said.
“Since the Corporation failed miserably to ensure proper drinking water supply to us despite paying the water tax, the urban civic body should exempt us from paying the drinking water tax as it failed in its primary duty,” Mr. Annasamy said. He also submitted a copy of the petition to Ms. Rana.
Ruling TVK cadre from Ward 37 submitted a petition urging the Corporation to relay roads damaged during underground drainage work along Cross Streets 8 to 11 of Mangammal Salai in KTC Nagar.
As the upcoming rainy season could worsen the condition of the roads and cause hardship to residents, the Corporation should immediately take up the road relaying work, they said.
Residents of Maruti Nagar near V.O.C. Ground in Palayamkottai submitted a petition alleging that sewage was mixing with the drinking water supplied to houses in Ward 32.
They said officials of the Palayamkottai Zone had failed to address the issue, which could lead to water-borne diseases. They urged senior Corporation officials to visit Maruti Nagar and take immediate steps to ensure the supply of safe drinking water.
The Social Democratic Party of India submitted a petition urging the Corporation to take steps to remove stray dogs from Ward 20 in Pettai under the Tirunelveli Zone.
Published – September 22, 2026 06:27 pm IST
