§ Mr. HUGH LAWasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the attention of the Indian Government has been directed on several occasions during recent years to the inadequacy of the supply of water to the town of Tuticorin; whether representations have been received from the chamber of commerce; and what steps it is proposed to take in the matter, having regard to the fact that Tuticorin, though it has a native popula- 2509W tion of about 36,000, and a yearly trade of close upon £6,000,000, and is the site of large cotton mills, is at present wholly dependent upon a supply drawn through open tanks, liable to contamination, and quite inadequate during the greater part of the year for the needs of the population, both native and European?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe latest information that the Secretary of State has on the subject is to the effect that a project for a joint supply of water to the three towns of Tinnevelly, Palamcottah, and Tuticorin at an appropriate cost of £130,000 is, with the sanction of the Madras Government, being investigated by the sanitary engineer of the Presidency.