Pudukottai: Suspected Cow Dung Contamination Of Dalit Residential Water Supply In Gandharvakottai Village

In a concerning incident, it has been reported that some individuals in Pudukottai district have purportedly contaminated the overhead tank supplying drinking water to a Dalit residential area in Gandharvakottai with cow dung. This incident comes on the heels of another troubling event in the same district where human feces were allegedly mixed in a water tank in Vengaivayal, which remains unsolved. This new suspected instance of water contamination involving cow dung has sparked outrage and concern among the local residents.

The occurrence was reported in Sangamviduthi village, located in Gandharvakottai taluk of the district, on 25 April 2024 when residents of the colony found that water supplied through the pipeline was contaminated. Suspecting something amiss, a group of youth residing in the colony, climbed up and checked OHT, and were shocked to find cow dung floating in it. Soon, they passed on the information to the Gandharvakottai Panchayat Union Commissioner Periyasamy. Acting on the information, the commissioner, along with the panchayat president Perumal, Revenue Inspector Priyadharshini, and VAO Subha after inspecting the water confirmed the presence of cow dung, prompting the initiation of an investigation by the police. 

Samples of the contaminated water from the tank were collected and sent for testing to determine whether it was caused by cow dung or algae. After the samples were collected, the water was drained from the tank, and they carried out two rounds of cleaning. Additionally, the revenue official made arrangements to provide drinking water to the residents through a tanker lorry temporarily. Furthermore, the police have launched an inquiry into the incident.

The Sangamviduthi incident serves as a distressing reminder of the Vengaivayal case in the district, where fecal matter was discovered in an overhead water tank supplying drinking water to Adi Dravidar families in December 2022. Initially investigated by special teams of the Pudukottai district police, the case was later transferred to the Crime Branch CID in January 2023. Despite over a year passing, the case remains unresolved.

(with inputs from The Hindu)

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