CHENNAI: Six months ago, when Chennai was water-starved, groundwater was sourced from villages in and around Thiruporur taluk. As a result, groundwater levels in these villages have plummeted to 200 ft now. Once a water-rich town, Thiruporur now depends on four other villages for their own drinking water needs. The ecosystem of villages around Chennai have already taken a harsh beating.
Dominoes falling
Villages like Illalur, Echankadu, Vembedu, Kayar and Thandalam in Thiruporur block are victims of the water scarcity’s domino effect. “We don’t have sufficient water. The panchayat supplies water only for an hour in the summer. We faced no such issues till five years ago. But now we are forced to buy water cans. Over 300 lorries suck our wells dry and we can do nothing about it,” said Thirupurasundari of Illalur village. The areas where private lorry owners installed borewells six months ago, now house water supply companies. There are two such enterprises in Illalur alone.
“In Vembedu, the panchayat administration decided to not let any lorry pump water from farmlands. We managed to save 15 open wells from going dry. Siruthavur residents protested so fiercely that no lorry can enter the village limits,” said M Stalin, a local activist from Vembedu. Now that Thiruporur’s aquifer has gone dry, nearby villages have been scouted for water extraction. Kondangi village is the latest to join this list. “The groundwater quality too has deteriorated. Now water has gone down till 200 ft,” said P Kasinathan, a Thiruporur resident.
Farming compromised
Mahendran M, a farmer from Paiyanur village, used to grow rice three times a year. But now he grows it only once. For the remaining period, he sells groundwater from his one acre land to private lorry owners and earns around Rs 1.5 lakh per month. “Each crop cycle fetches me Rs 15,000 and there was hardly any profit. But with the extraction of water, I can earn `1 lakh without any investment and this helps me pay off my loans,” he added.
Major instigators
A major reason for the unchecked extraction of water is the long delay by the State government to issue licenses to lorry owners. The government promised to identify spots from where groundwater can be extracted. But even after six months, negligible or no progress has been achieved in this regard. The second reason is the mushrooming of new multi-storeyed apartments between Shollinganallur and Kelambakkam.
A Revenue Department official confirmed that the process to issue licenses has not started yet in Kancheepuram or Chengalpattu districts. “Out of about 5,000 lorries plying in and around Chennai, less than one per cent have license to draw water. That too they have only temporary license. Once the local body elections get over, we will be complete the process,” added the official.