Chennai: Following heavy rains the city is having surplus water supply, but residents of tenements in Kannagi Nagar still face water shortage.
“Usually we get water on alternate days, today it has not come from the morning.
There is no fixed time of water supply,” said S. Jayanthi on Sunday evening, who looked distressed about the scarcity of water in block 43, where she resides. She is not alone. Another resident complained: “I haven’t been able to take a bath today as we had stored water in buckets. That would not have been sufficient to use for other chores as well as bathing.”
Some residents have another tale to tell. They claimed that they had been receiving water daily but now water comes once in three days. While residents complained about the shortage of water, officials from Metro Water and Slum Clearance Board made contradictory claims on the matter.
“The requirement for the 22,500 families in Slum Board houses is around 60 lakh litres per day but for the past ten days we have been receiving around 30 - 35 lakh litres. This is the reason behind the shortage. One of the desalination plants that supplies water to Metro water is not functioning, but we will pick up the supply soon,” said an executive engineer from the TN Slum Clearance Board.
“Metro Water supplies the required amount of water, 55 lakh litres per day, to the underground tank for Kannagi Nagar. We have been supplying the assured amount but the internal distribution is managed by Slum Clearance Board which manages the daily supply,” said an official in Metro Water when told about the issue.
