CHENNAI: With summer just beginning, more than one lakh residents of Kannagi Nagar are already facing severe water shortage. The residents say they are struggling to manage daily chores and go to work with the erratic water supply this past month, arriving only once every two to five days.
Residents TNIE spoke to said they received water after a three-day gap only on Sunday. Consequently, many had to take leave from work to fetch and store water.
G Vijaya, a resident, said that the locality frequently faces such water shortages every few months. “The water supply started around 6:45 am, but for the first hour, the water was yellowish. We don’t know when it will stop or when we will get water again. I work as a housekeeper and had to take leave today just to collect and store water.” She added that ever since summer started, residents have struggled to even take baths due to the crisis.
Residents also pointed out that even when supply is on, the water pressure is extremely low, making it physically exhausting to use the hand pumps. “There has been no fixed timing for the supply in the past month. Sometimes, it comes as late as 9 pm, and we have to stay up past midnight to store it,” said another resident N Lakshmi, who works as a cook in Sholinganallur. We have no choice but to manage with the water we have, as we cannot afford to buy water from tankers, she said. For cooking, we occasionally purchase water cans ever since the situation worsened, Lakshmi added.
According to sources, Chennai Metro Water must supply 40 lakh litres of water per day to fulfil the needs of 15,656 tenements in Kannagi Nagar. However, the supply has been reduced to 20 lakh litres or even less leading to severe water scarcity. The motors in the four sumps, with the largest having a capacity of 11 lakh litres, were fitted more than two decades ago, sources added.
“At present, there is maintenance work going on in the Nemmeli desalination plant from where water is supplied to the locality and it will get over by March 26. However, we have been facing water shortage for the past one month with only 20 lakh litres supplied on average.
The water pressure is also low making it difficult for the residents to collect and store it,” said T C Karuna, former ward councillor. He added that at present water is being supplied from the Veeranam lake, but it is not enough. He urged officials to remedy the shortage as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Metro Water officials stated that they have been ensuring a supply of 28 to 30 lakh litres to Kannagi Nagar, which is the usual allocation. They added that over 20% of the work to lay pipelines and install individual water tanks for each house, at a cost of around `70 crore, has been completed. Once finished, they said, the project could help resolve the area’s water issues.