Tamil Nadu   

Acute water scarcity in southern suburbs

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

PAINFUL QUEUE: Water scarcity in many parts of southern suburbs of Chennai has made it a regular scene of pots and women waiting at the public taps.

TAMBARAM: An alarming dip in the ground water table in Palar river leading to low yields and problems pertaining to internal distribution is resulting in an acute water scarcity in many places in the southern suburbs of Chennai. Some pockets receive water only once a fortnight.

Ideally, water at a depth of three metres from the surface of the dry bed of the Palar river would ensure adequate supply of drinking water to local bodies and institutions covered under the Tambaram – Pallavaram Comprehensive Water Supply Scheme. But now, water level has dipped beyond 12 metres, particularly around infiltration wells near sources at Vengudi, Pazhayaseevaram, Pullambakkam among other villages.

Of the 20 infiltration wells under this scheme, only half of them are functioning. The daily yield ought to be nothing less than 225 lakh litres, but at present water drawn is only about 75 lakh litres, that has to be shared among Pallavaram Municipality and a portion of Tambaram Municipality, in addition to Chitlapakkam and Tiruneermalai Town Panchayats, St. Thomas Mount cum Pallavaram Cantonment Board, Indian Air Force Station, Tambaram, Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, Tambaram Fire Station, National Institute of Siddha and other institutions.

With so many areas forced to share the supply, Pallavaram has been receiving only a little more than 20 lakh litres a day recently, forcing authorities and elected representatives to strain their resources and ensure drinking water supply through tankers to tail-end areas. In some parts of Chitlapakkam, residents received water supply only once in two weeks.

The situation is slightly better in Tambaram Municipality, which has wells in Villiyambakkam as part of its exclusive scheme.

It receives about 30 lakh litres a day from here and another 14 lakh litres a day of water from the Tambaram – Pallavaram Scheme. An important reason for the present situation of acute scarcity is the failure of an earlier scheme to augment supply from Palar.

In 2003, Rs. 3.30 crore was spent on executing a project of sinking additional wells in Pullambakkam village to draw water as sources in Vengudi and Pazhayaseevaram were getting depleted. Of the project cost, Pallavaram’s share was Rs. 1.54 crore.

Local bodies of Tambaram, Chitlapakkam, Pammal and Anakaputhur too contributed financially. (Pammal and Anakaputhur were subsequently delinked from Palar and are now being supplied by Chennai Metrowater.) The objective was to realise 43.2 lakh litres a day, but no more than 6 lakh litres is being generated. Residents in Chromepet said leakages on the main lines, coupled with pilferages in the internal distribution system added to problems.

Senior engineers of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board attributed the problems to low yield from the sources in Palar river. They feared that unless that was a strong spell of rain in the near future, problems could only worsen.

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