Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Water mining undermining farm wells: residents

K. Manikandan

Lorry operators ``depend on this for livelihood'' There is no point in blaming operators in Kovilambakkam alone as similar operations continued in villages around Chennai.

EXPLOITATION: A tanker extracts water from a farm well at Rose Nagar in Kovilambakkam near Tambaram. — PHOTO: D. GOPALAKRISHNAN.

TAMBARAM : Residents of Echangadu and newly developing areas in Kovilambakkam near Tambaram have been protesting the indiscriminate extraction of water from farm wells in their locality. They regret that despite a government order banning exploitation of groundwater for commercial purposes, officials were doing little to prevent the looting.

With water table declining steeply in many areas in the heart of Chennai, an increasing demand for construction activities has resulted in an indiscriminate mining of fresh water from farm and public wells in the southern suburbs. Be it Kovilambakkam that is dotted with farm wells with a copious supply of water or other areas beyond it, water tanker operators work round the clock.

According to residents of Rose Nagar in Kovilambakkam, water was available even five feet below ground a couple of years ago. And it has gone down to 50 feet ever since the indiscriminate extraction of water by tanker operators began about a year ago. As many as 200 loads of water are being drawn from the five farm wells in and near Rose Nagar everyday and the operation continued even through night.

A tanker operator said he was aware of the government order, but there was no option but to draw water from the farm wells as several families were dependent on it for livelihood. And so were water-starved citizens of Chennai who had to turn to them for water supply, the operator said. There was no point in blaming operators in Kovilambakkam alone as similar operations continued in many villages on the fringes of Chennai.

Elected representatives of the Kovilambakkam panchayat recalled the local body passed a resolution last year against the extraction of water from wells in their jurisdiction. Though the rule was followed for some time, it was now violated. They said the `water mining' would stop only if officials of the Kancheepuram district administration intervened.

Residents regretted they had appealed to officials of the district and even the State Government to ensure that provisions of the Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2003 were implemented.

When contacted, officials of the Revenue Department said that only recently they had launched a drive against commercial exploitation of water and that they would continue to do so until it was completely stopped.

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