Abhishek
Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug 30: Seeking the provision of clean and safe drinking water to the residents of Pudumadurai Village under Gram Panchayat Chainpur, Gram Panchayat Chainpur Pradhan Mr. Johnson Kerketta met the Chief Engineer (CE), Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) on Friday, 28 August 2026, and discussed the drinking water problems faced by the villagers in detail.
During the meeting, Pradhan Mr. Johnson Kerketta submitted a representation to the CE APWD and explained that Pudumadurai Village is presently receiving drinking water collected from three small Check Weirs, which is then supplied to households. During the rainy season, heavy rainfall causes large quantities of soil, silt, leaves and other organic matter to enter these water sources, making the water highly muddy and contaminated. As a result, villagers face serious difficulties in getting clean and safe drinking water.
The Pradhan demanded that water coming from the three Check Weirs should first be collected in the proposed Filter Bed and properly filtered and treated before being supplied to households as drinking water. He also informed the CE that the proposal/demand for construction of the Filter Bed has been placed before the department since 2022, but the construction work has not yet commenced.
During the meeting, the Pradhan requested the CE APWD to accord priority to this important public welfare work, provide the necessary sanction and initiate the construction work at the earliest. He stated that access to clean drinking water is directly linked to the health of the villagers and that consumption of contaminated water during the rainy season increases the risk of water-borne diseases.
The CE APWD took the demand and the drinking water problem of the villagers seriously and reportedly assured Pradhan Mr. Johnson Kerketta that necessary action would be taken to fulfil the demand and to move forward with the proposed Filter Bed construction work.
Pradhan Mr. Johnson Kerketta expressed his gratitude to the CE APWD and hoped that the department would take early necessary action and provide the residents of Pudumadurai with a permanent facility for clean and safe drinking water.
