CHENNAI: Water has become an expensive commodity in Chennai, forcing the residents to cough up about Rs. 5,500 for 12,000 litres and in some parts a wee bit more. A week ago, tanker suppliers had charged about Rs. 4,500 for 12,000 lt. And with hardly any option left, Chennaiites rely heavily on tanker water supply for replenishment.
As Chennai reels under the worst water crises, with a mere 1.3 % water left in the city’s reservoirs - the fifth-lowest amount in 74 years, parts of the southern suburbs too are beginning to feel the adversity as the groundwater level drastically plummets. What puzzles the residents in certain pockets is the neglect of the Velachery Lake, spread across 20 hectares, and the huge Adambakkam Lake as well and other adjoining water bodies that contain water. These lakes could have helped relieve the residents of water crisis had the encroachments evicted and the water bodies well maintained.
The Chennai Private Water Tanker Lorry Association accounts for over 1,000 members, and on an average each tanker makes over five trips a day, fetching water from the fringes of the city to apartments, hotels, malls and offices.
“Some of the wells in Kovilambakkam and Nanmangalam where we use to draw water have gone dry, thus forcing us to seek agricultural wells in neighbouring Kancheerpuram district,” says a supplier.
But stiff opposition from the villagers is also discouraging them from fetching water from the wells, he claims.
To make matters worse, the price of tanker water is not uniform. The prices vary with the quantity.
The dependency on tanker water suppliers increased as the distribution of groundwater does not appear to be even at all places.
“For instance in the same neighbourhood few houses have to manage with scanty groundwater while their neighbours drain the water and allow the over head tanks to overflow daily,” says Prem Kumar, a resident of Velachery
