CHENNAI: Water pipes snake across the dry lake bed in Kovilambakkam, sucking water from the nearby agricultural wells. A tanker lorry at the rudimentary filling station makes a call and a motor pump is started in a distance. Within a minute, water gushes into the 12,000-litre tanker, which is into its third trip of the day. Five agricultural wells supply water to more than 60 private tankers that ply multiple loads to the nearby suburbs of Medavakkam, Velachery, Pallavaram and Pallikaranai.
This is in direct violation of a 2002 amendment to The Chennai Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Act, 1987, which prohibits commercial extraction of water from Kovilambakkam along with other 299 localities in the city. While the private suppliers suck away the groundwater, the local panchayat has turned a blind eye to their activities. Instead of addressing the main reason behind dropping groundwater levels, it has been using MNREGA workers to deepen the lake to help retain the water in future.
Federation of Kovilambakkam Welfare Associations general secretary S Killivalavan said the groundwater table was at 30 ft when he had moved to Kovilambakkam in 2005. Twelve years later, his neighbour’s 200-m-deep borewell has run dry. “My house is less than 200 metres away from the lakes,” said a distraught Rajendravarman.
Over the last decade, former agriculturists have taken the easy way out by selling their farm lands. Now they use their wells as a front to further their water business. These large agricultural wells are also fed by side bores, which squeeze the surrounding dry.
Venkatesan, a former agriculturist, is now the owner of Jeeva Aqua Fresh, a drinking water can business unit that operates from a well next to the Kovilambakkam lake.
When contacted, Venkatesan requested this reporter not to take up the issue and said that he was struggling to make ends meet. Ironically, there were two luxury cars in front of his house.
“The government does not seek answers from us as we provide water to the city, which is facing acute shortage,” said Subramani, the owner of Ganapathy Water Supply, another major water supplier operating from Kovilambakkam.
Water suppliers like Subramani pay well owners like Venkatesan a meagre Rs.150 for a load, which fetches at least 10 times the amount in an apartment complex in T Nagar.
Agriculturists turned well owners and water suppliers have systematically plundered the water resources in the area, so much so that the residents of Kovilambakkam have to buy water from these suppliers now. Even the MNREGA workers involved in the lake deepening work were seen complaining about water scarcity.
“We came here 15 years ago as agricultural labourers from various districts,” said Seethalakshmi, who is in charge of lake deepening work.“We have to think twice before taking a bath,” she said.
The officials in the panchayat office claimed that the well owners and suppliers were local residents with political backing.When asked about the illegal extraction of water from Kovilambakkam, Assistant Director of Panchayats (Rural Development) assured Express that she would look into the matter.
“I visited Vengaivasal recently and prevented illegally extracting water for business from agricultural wells,” said the official who did not want to be named.