Women of Kameswaram carry drinking water in plastic pots. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Every morning and evening, women from the fishing village of Kameswaram in Kilvelur taluk embark on a 2km walk with empty containers to fetch drinking water – a journey that ends near a graveyard, along a dark and dangerous stretch of road.
The fishing village, home to more than 320 families, has been without a reliable source of drinking water for years. The piped water supply under the Kollidam project has not reached the settlement, forcing residents to depend on a lone hand pump located outside the village limits.
“After the tsunami, the groundwater here has become salty. All our wells have become unusable,” said Sakunthala V., a fisherman. “There is no water left in the village. This hand pump is our only option.”
Though pipelines under Jal Jeevan Mission have been laid across Kameswaram, not even a drop of water flows through them. “The pipes are there, but they’re dry,” said Mala M., another resident. “We are still waiting, but nothing is changing.
Reaching the hand pump is an ordeal in itself. The road has no street lights for almost a kilometer. Women walk through sections lined with eucalyptus and cashew trees, often in complete darkness. The pump is located near the burial ground.
“There have been incidents of chain ripping and threats,” said one resident. “People hide in the dark. Yet we go – alone, day or night – because water cannot wait.”
An attempt to build a reverse osmosis drinking water plant failed several years ago due to lack of maintenance, leaving the village once again dependent on the dangerous road.
When contacted, a senior official of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) in Nagapattinam said the issue would be looked into.
EOM/
Published – 03 Jan 2026 20:25 IST
