Chennai is going through severe water crisis as its lakes dry up
The opposition party in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has blamed the State Government, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Chief Minister – Edappadi K. Palanisamy for the ongoing water crisis in Chennai, which has impacted the lives of millions of people.
Tamil Nadu has been in deep water crisis especially after Chennai’s Porur Lake, its main source of water, reached its lowest level. The other major lakes such as Chembarambakkam, Poondi, Red Hills and Cholavaram, which also contribute significantly, have almost dried up.
Inadequate rainfall in 2017 and failed monsoon in 2018 have led the State into this deep crisis of water shortfall. The depletion of ground water levels and drying up of the reservoirs have compelled the residents to depend heavily on the water-tankers being arranged by the administration. With borewells and wells running dry, the demand for water has increased significantly.
The Current Scenario
Presently, water is being brought directly into Chennai neighbourhoods in trucks. Millions of people stand in queue every day for hours, so that they can get some water.
Suresh Subburaman, a hotel owner in Chennai said, “We are open, and we are somehow functioning. But we are running at a no-loss, no-gain situation. This is our only business. We have no other option. We have to run it. Earlier the water would come every day at home. Now, we get it every three to four days. We store the water in a small tank or 20-liter plastic pots at home.”
With limited supplies, people who can afford water have opted for expensive private water tankers. For the records, 8,20,000 people live in slums and cannot afford private tankers.
Madras High Court comes down heavily on State Government
Coming down heavily on the State Government, the Madras High Court has blamed the Government for not taking measures to handle the water crisis. The Madras High Court observed that despite predictions of failed monsoon, the Government didn’t take any step. The Court also directed the Public Works Department (PWD) secretary to submit a State-wide comprehensive report on the number of reservoirs in the State and the steps taken by them for solving the water crisis.
What the Government says?
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has said that all the necessary steps are being taken to restore the water supply. Efforts are being made to augment the water supply from Veeranam Lake in Cuddalore District. He also said that media is making an issue of this unnecessarily.
Asking media to cooperate, he said, “The media should not create an illusion of water scarcity using some stray incidents.”
The Minister of Fisheries of Tamil Nadu – D. Jayakumar said that the Government is well equipped to manage the crisis until the arrival of North East monsoon, which will bring rains between October and December 2019. However, the Municipal Administration has said that water supply has been increased from 450 Million Litre Per Day (MLD) to 525 MLD.
The protest for ongoing water crisis
The DMK has said that it will hold a State-wide protest on Saturday, June 22, 2019 to ensure that the State Government takes adequate steps in solving the growing water crisis.
Besides, 400 workers of DMK were arrested on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 as they tried to stage a protest urging for the resignation of Municipal Administration Minister – S.P. Velumani. The DMK workers carried plastic pots over their heads as a mark of water shortage. The protestors were then arrested as they didn’t had permission to hold protest.
Report by NITI Aayog
As per a recent report by NITI Aayog, 21 Indian cities, including Chennai, will run out of groundwater by 2020. This will impact 100 million lives. The report also mentioned that by 2030, 40% of India’s population will not have access to drinking water.
