It was a dream come true for the residents of Vellakovil, a Dalit hamlet near the Thamirabarani watercourse, when Minister for Industries Nainar Nagendran inaugurated a drinking water scheme. Though the secluded village is close to the Thamirabarani, lifeline of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts in Tamil Nadu the villagers relied on wells on the riverbank for drinking water. These were inundated during floods, leaving the villagers in the lurch.