more-in Days after residents of Rockfort and Karumandapam areas took to the streets in protest against short and irregular supply of water, those living in Airport and Sembattu areas resorted to a similar road blockade on Wednesday. Alleging that they had not received drinking water for the last few weeks, the protesters, mostly women, blocked traffic on Tiruchi-Pudukottai highway at Airport. A large number of residents of Sembattu, N.M.K. Colony, M.K.T. Colony, Kudi Street and others participated in the protest by displaying empty pots. They said though they had brought the issue to the notice of officials on several occasions, the issue had not been resolved. On the contrary, the situation had further worsened. They had not received water for the last one month, forcing them to wander in search of drinking water. The residents also complained that the water distributed by the Corporation through tanker lorries was not being properly supplied to the needy people. On information, Corporation officials and police rushed to the spot and held negotiations with the protesters. On promise by the officials, the protest was withdrawn. The traffic on Tiruch-Pudukottai was thrown out of gear for an hour from 3 pm. Similarly, irate residents of Anthoniyar Street and Madurai Veeran Temple Street in Golden Rock laid siege to the Golden Rock zonal office of the Tiruchi Corporation on Wednesday morning, protesting against erratic water supply. They said the Corporation maintained water supply for just 10 minutes a day. It was not sufficient to meet the requirement of drinking and cooking. The protesters withdrew the agitation following an assurance fom the Corporation officials to look into the issue. Meanwhile, Tiruchi Corporation has decided to rehabilitate all defunct hand pumps in the city to meet the water requirements of residents other than drinking. Corporation Commissioner-cum-Special Officer N. Ravichandran told The Hindu that in addition to sinking more bore wells in the Cauvery river, it had been resolved to bring all hand pumps in the city to use. The officials had been asked to take a survey on hand pumps and submit proposals immediately to deepen the bores of hand pumps. It would be taken up on a war footing. It was said that there were about 1,000 hand pumps in all four zones of the city. About 10 to 20 percent of them were said to be defunct for some time. They would be repaired within a week.

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