Water for Rs 150 a litre, milk Rs 100 for a litre

Chennai: Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink is currently a reality in areas like Velachery, Tambaram, Perumbakkam and Pallikaranai areas in Chennai.  Though Indian Army and NDRF has started distributing food packets, water, milk supply is hit because of no road connectivity.

“I bought a litre of milk for Rs 100.  My neighbours who went little later returned without milk as there was no stock,” said D. Parthasarathy, a resident of Tambaram Lakskmipuram. Similarly the residents have to wade through water to get  the 20 litre double top water cans by paying Rs 80. It usually costs Rs 35. Power cut for the third consecutive day had dried overhead tanks adding to the woes, Parthasarathy added.

“Vendors are taking advantage of floods and panic purchase had also pushed the price of drinking water and vegetables in flood-hit areas,” said G. Govardhan, who resides in Thiruvi Ka Nagar.

The Ambattur plant of state run Aavin dairy is hit by water logging and is unable to dispatch more quantity of milk. However our Madhavaram unit is working overtime to cater Chennaiites, said an Aavin official, when contacted adding that the demand for milk shot up as milk supply from Andhra-based private diaries is affected due to water logging.
Meanwhile chief minister J Jayalalithaa has ordered Aavin to use the stocked skimmed milk powder to provide milk to people.

“We will be able to send water tankers only after withdrawal of rains. Those kept in relief camps are provide chlorinated water through tankers and it is advisable for people to vacate the inundated areas,” said a Chennai metro engineer. However, there is no water supply problem in most of the north and central Chennai pockets, he said. For the third consecutive day power, transport and telephone facilities were affected due to the rains. As the state electricity board had suspended power as a precautionary measure, most of the residents of the city and its neighbourhoods, who had stocked on milk and vegetables were unable to preserve them for long.

Large queues were seen in places where milk was being sold while the famous Koyambedu vegetable market was cut off from the city, leading to the spiralling vegetable prices. According to reports, the price of mineral water also hit the roof with a 20 litre bottle normally available for Rs 30 being sold for Rs 150 per bottle. Most of the supermarkets and hotels were either shut or had run out of stocks.

Meanwhile, terming the situation in flood-hit Chennai as “very alarming”, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured all central assistance to state government in dealing with natural calamities . Also, National Crisis Management Committee reviewed the flood situation and explored the possibility of dropping ready-to-eat food items and milk packets.