Water-thirsty Manapparai hopes for solutions to long-pending problems

Manapparai’s fame rests on many things: its crunchy ‘murukku’, the deep-fried rice flour snack that earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2023; a historic cattle shandy established in 1928 that does business worth crores of rupees every week, and a rather tasty native variety of brinjal.

As the three panchayat unions of Manapparai, Marungapuri, and Vaiyampatti that make up the Manapparai constituency gear up for the Legislative Assembly elections, voters are hoping that at least a few of the region’s long-pending problems will be resolved satisfactorily by the next government.

While the area’s water problems tend to dominate conversation efforts, there are a few bright spots as the constituency heads to the polls.

Manapparai is famous for the crunchy delicious murkku deep fried in rice flour.
| Photo Credit:
M. MOORTHY

One such example is the Manapparai SIPCOT Industrial Park, designed to promote heavy engineering and food production companies that has been set up on 1,097 acres covering Kannudaiyanpatti, K. Periyapatti, and Chathirapatti villages.

A total of 30 companies have been allotted land on a 99-year lease and a few have become operational in recent months.

“Manapparai’s central location and connectivity to both the highways and the airport in Tiruchi makes it an ideal choice for industrial development. The SIPCOT park is expected to generate at least 3,000 jobs for local applicants in the coming year and the number will increase as more companies start functioning here. The focus will be on skilled workers,” A. Marimuthu, its project officer, told The Hindu.

A Government Arts and Science College inaugurated in 2024 at a cost of ₹14.94 crore has raised hopes, though its remote location and lack of permanent teaching faculty appointments remain problematic.

Rajya Sabha member Salma said that higher education would offer a level playing field to students from rural areas. “The proposal to establish a government engineering college has been mooted recently. We hope it will be approved soon,” she said.

Vexed problems

The constituency grapples with a severe water shortage that has affected agriculture and the medium and small industries adversely. “Most of us rely on bottled water for domestic use. Piped water is supplied once or twice a week, but the groundwater in Manapparai has become salty and unpotable. The few sources of fresh water that were functioning in the interior villages are getting closed off,” said Abdul Munaf, a small business owner.

The freshwater tap at Theerampatti sees crowds of residents from at least 10 villages in the vicinity, queuing up from daybreak to collect water for their homes.

A 2025 proposal by the Water Resources Department submitted to the State government envisages laying a pipeline for a distance of over 54 km to pump surplus water from the Mayanur barrage across the Cauvery to Ponnaniyar dam and the Kannuthu dam.

Over the past several years, both dams have got poor inflows. Farmers have long been clamouring for desilting of Ponnaniyar dam and its canal.

“Irrespective of who is in power, the issue of water supply is yet to be solved in a sustainable manner. Our farmers are suffering due to this neglect,” said AITUC district deputy secretary Mohamed Hussain.

Town planning

Residents are worried by the proliferation of liquor shops in close proximity of National Highway 44 and schools in the Manjampatti stretch. “At least seven liquor shops are situated near two schools here, which is not a healthy development. Of late, there have been several cases of pedestrians being hit by speeding vehicles while trying to cross the highway. We hope the authorities will build a walkway or bridge for road users to prevent accidents,” said Mr. Munaf.

The cattle shandy in Manappara was started in 1928 and records a turnover of ₹2 crore to ₹3 crore.
| Photo Credit:
B. VELANKANNI RAJ

Farmers and cattle rearers from all over Tamil Nadu gather at Manapparai’s cattle shandy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and sales of at least ₹2-3 crore are recorded each time. “Yet, we still need proper toilet facilities on the premises. There is no arrangement to feed the animals,” said Vijay, a farmer and cattle rearer.

The stretch of the highway along Manjampatti village in Manapparai has become an accident zone.
| Photo Credit:
M. MOORTHY

Activists pointed out to ill-designed drainage at many of Manapparai’s public places. “Subways that were provided for local traffic under the railway bridges constructed over the Manapparai to Tiruchi road in 2013 and over the Manapparai to Dindigul stretch in 2015, are completely unusable because of constant flooding and sewage leaks,” said Mr. Hussain.

Lack of advanced diagnostic testing facilities at the District Headquarters Government Hospital in Manapparai has been a cause for concern. Patients from as far as Pudukottai and Annavasal flock the hospital regularly, but are usually re-directed to Tiruchi’s government hospital to get an MRI scan, said residents.

Published – March 26, 2026 10:04 pm IST