Tribal residents in the Nilgiris demand completion of project to bring water to hamlets

Tribal residents in Udhagamandalam demand completion of drinking water project as summer approaches, facing water scarcity.

With summer fast approaching and water sources drying up, tribal residents from the Nilgiris who were to benefit from a scheme to ensure access to drinking water over two years ago, have demanded that the Forest Department complete the project, which still remains unfinished in many of the villages.

According to Adivasi activists from the Nilgiris, around 20 wells were to be built in tribal hamlets across the Nilgiris with funds released from the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department in 2021-2022. “A total of almost ₹ 3 crore was allocated across Tamil Nadu, with a portion of it being released to the Nilgiris,” said M. Alwas, secretary of the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association (NAWA).

Mr. Alwas said that the funds were meant to bring drinking water, solar and street lights to multiple tribal villages across the Nilgiris. “However, due to the forest officials, including rangers being tasked with implementing the project being transferred, the basic amenities that the funds were supposed to bring to these villages remains incomplete,” said Mr. Alwas.

Local activists, including N. Sadiq Ali, Founder of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT) said that some of the water tanks, pipelines and pumps that were to be installed are either in a derelict condition or are of poor quality.

“The Forest Department should check on how tanks were built using the funds and take steps to ensure that repairs and other work is undertaken to ensure that local residents can benefit,” Mr. Ali said.

When contacted, Field Director of MTR and Conservator of Forests (Nilgiris), D. Venkatesh, said that the issues raised by the locals had been looked into and that all works under the project had been carried out. “However, a few sections of pipeline have been stolen in a few areas, while some villages require taps and others need electricity connections for the pumps to operate,” he said, adding that the issues were being sorted currently.

“We have even directed that the deposit for the electricity connections be paid for by the department itself,” added Mr. Venkatesh, who said that he expects all the issues to be sorted within the next two weeks and for local communities to be able to use the tanks to store and access drinking water.