Drinking, bathing becomes luxury in Chennai as water crisis grips city

A deficit rainfall during the 2017 and failed monsoon in 2018 has resulted in depletion of ground water and near drying up of major waterbodies, and has pushed residents at the mercy of water-tankers.

A row of vessels line a street corner where a water-tanker is parked; a gaggle of women quibble as they await their turn to get the pots filled-- this has become a daily affair in several parts of Chennai with the city staring at an acute water crisis.

Many denizens have even started considering daily bath a luxury and finding adequate water for doing laundry and dishwashing has become a nightmare.

A central Chennai resident Kumar B Das said he is spending around Rs 2,500 on water tankers per month, apart from the money that goes for purchasing bottled drinking water.

"I have started reusing utensils by wiping them with a cloth or tissue after first use. That saves much water. Body sprays have become dear to me," the IT professional said.

Raveendranath, a member of a residential association said they had to depend on private tankers for supply as the government metro water tankers take 2 to 3 weeks to turn up.

Private operators have hiked the rates and are demanding Rs 3,000 to 5,000 per truck load of water, he claimed.

A deficit rainfall during the 2017 northeast monsoon and failed monsoon in 2018 has resulted in depletion of ground water and near drying up of major waterbodies, and has pushed residents at the mercy of water-tanker operators.

Amid the shortage, Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, ministers and officials took part in a meeting to review water supply Wednesday.

Officials, however, declined to divulge what transpired at the meeting.

Residents and activists allege that the efforts of the state government in water conservation have proven to be a damp squib.

A senior official in Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) that supplies water to the city told PTI that compared to other metropolitan cities Chennai is in a disadvantaged location because of lack of any perennial rivers.

"We are doing our best and focusing on water distribution, supply and finding alternative sources to meet the growing demand of Chennai.

Plan to set up two desalination plants-capacity of 150 million litres of water per day (mld) and 400 mld - is in the pipeline," the official said.

Business Standard