CHENNAI:

Chennai is facing a severe water crisis after its four reservoirs have turned dry
and ground water levels plummeting due to scanty rain. The Tamil Nadu capital is facing
a forty per cent cut in piped water supply.

The Chennai Metro Water has cut piped water supply by 40 per cent. The city requires
800 million litres of water every day. But the agency supplies only 525 million litres.

Punitha, a cook in the heart of the city and a mother of two waits for hours just to get a
little water every two days from a government tanker. She gets just seven pots of water
on alternate days for her four-member family.

"Our children are not able to go to school and college. We collect water from the
Valluvar Square tank at 1 am or 2 am. Boys can do that. What would girls do?" she told
NDTV.

With barely enough water to drink, for many bathing or washing clothes is out of the
question leading to fears of illness and disease. Punitha's neighbour Vijaya added, "We
don't get water even to bathe. I have an office-going son and a daughter at home after
college. I work. Water is not enough".

A popular restaurant at Teynampet had stopped serving meals for lunch, for want of
water. The restaurant manager says they faced severe scarcity of water and thus
decided to stop meals. "Today we lifted the ban as tankers resumed supply," he said.

A majority of Chennai's residents now depend on private water tankers. Already

expensive, they have now doubled their prices but even then the water doesn't reach
them on time. Syed Altaf, an office-goer says, "It's a huge challenge for us. Water is the
backbone of our industry. Chennai is in panic mode. Earlier we just required one call we
would get the water the same night. Unfortunately it takes four days now".

"Water is being supplied through tankers and desalinated water is also being
distributed," Chief Minister E Palaniswami said. Mr Palaniswami said water from the
Mettur Dam was being released to replenish Veeranam Lake in Cuddalore district and
supply drinking water to Chennai as all the city.
Along Chennai's IT Corridor, high rise apartments and IT parks are under severe stress
with no piped water supply. Turyaa, a five-star hotel requires one lakh litres a day but it
gets just half of it.

Last week, the Madras High Court had directed the Tamil Nadu government to submit
details of the steps that it has taken to fulfil daily water requirements of people in
Chennai.

10 COMMENTS
Manohar Khushalani, former director of the National Water Academy, told NDTV, "In
2015, Chennai had floods. The same reason that caused the floods is causing the
drought. Reservoirs and canals have to be restored and encroachment should stop."