Tough times are ahead for the residents of Pallavaram, Chromepet and Chitlapakkam. At present, these residential areas receive drinking water only once in a fortnight or a month.
This is highly ironical, as these areas are surrounded by waterbodies. However, encroachments, illegal disposal of garbage and sewage inflows have resulted in destruction of these waterbodies.
In Pallavaram and Chromepet, residents are supplied drinking water by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board from Chembarambakkam Lake and Palar River.
Until the first week of February, the municipality supplied drinking water once in five days. Now, it’s once in 15 days.
In Chitlapakkam, residents receive Palar drinking water once in 30-35 days.
The Chitlapakkam Muthulakshmi Nagar Welfare Association recently requested T.K.M. Chinnayya, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry to help them tide over the water crisis. The Association requested the State Minister to include Chitlapakkam area in the Chembarambakkam Drinking Water Scheme. This water scheme, likely to be implemented this June-July, will benefit the residents of Pallavaram, Pammal, Pozhichalur and Chromepet.
“The Meteorological Department said that Tambaram and Kancheepuram has received rainfall far below the average of the State’s northeast monsoon. Tamil Nadu accounts for 48 per cent rainfall from October to December. Knowing very well that there is going to be water shortage during summer, the officials concerned have not taken any steps,” V. Santhanam, president, Federation of Civic and Welfare Associations of Pallavapuram, said.
“The water crisis is a recurring problem. Even before the beginning of the summer, the presence of acute of water shortage is felt. The waterbodies, which help recharge groundwater tables, are not rejuvenated; nor are rainwater harvesting systems properly implemented,” he added.
With the demand for water cans growing by leaps and bounds, residents in suburban areas are forced to wait for more than a day. The prices of water cans are likely to shoot up in the days to come.
Official sources in the Pallavapuram municipality say steps are being taken to increase drinking water supply including laying of bores and checking the existing conditions of bore, construction of a well on Sembakkam Lake to supply six-and-a-half-lakh litres of drinking water and de-silting public wells.
“Moreover, we have requested the CMWSSB to supply excess piped drinking water supply during the summer period,” the sources added.
For residents of Chitlapakkam and Sembakkam, the issue of shortage in drinking water supply surfaced around two months ago.
The residents are unhappy with the Pallavapuram municipality over the construction of a well on Sembakkam lake to tide over the water crisis. They believe this move will further reduce groundwater levels. The residents have met D. Farida Banu, revenue divisional officer, Tambaram, and have expressed apprehensions over the municipality’s move.
To overcome the drinking water crisis, they have started fixing Reverse Osmosis water filter systems in the bore-wells.
