“For every drop of water you waste, you must know that somewhere on earth someone is desperately looking for a drop of water!”
Water scarcity was always a real threat to a lot of Indians. Since childhood, every year in social studies I would read a chapter dedicated to it. With the way water is wasted and exploited, I knew that there would be a day when metropolitans would start running out of water. But I was still optimistic that it would take a decade for that to happen.
I was wrong.
A Parched Chennai
I was wrong, since that day has come to Chennai. Monsoon has been delayed significantly this year. And as a result, the reservoirs supplying water to the city have run dry. Such is the situation that hotels have had to ration water supply. Companies in the city have actually asked employees to reduce water use in restrooms as well as canteens.
A statement issued by a top company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, has said “We have also switched to biodegradable plates in all our cafeterias, temporarily closed shower facilities in our gyms, and minimized the washing of utensils in our campuses by our cafeteria vendors”. Several companies have even asked their employees to sat and work from home due to this sever water shortage.
Data from the State government has revealed that the water levels at the reservoirs are at 0.2% of their actual capacity. The rainfall deficit in 2018 was as high as 80%. The projected rainfall deficit for this year is even higher.
Situation is so bad that water is only available at communal wells. These communal wells are so widely in use that one might get lost in the queues around them. Some places have even started holding a lottery system to decide who gets to draw water from the well. Similar lotteries are held at water tanks coming to provide water as well.
Residents have now succumbed to ordering water tanks for their day to day needs. This increasing shortage is so severe that the waiting period for these water tankers is as high as 25 days. Even when one can withstand the wait, the prices are so high that most people have had to bend over backwards.
A resident of Kodambakkam, Vipin J has said, “We had been booking private tankers a month in advance. But now even that isn’t an option since certain restrictions have been imposed. When we approach them, they tell us to come after 15-20 days. The level of crisis is extreme. We are depending on water cans now, but they are very expensive”.
The Political Blame Game Continues
While the citizens in Chennai suffer under the water shortage, the political drama continues, as per its usual standards. As has been seen across the nation whenever a crisis situation arises, the first response amongst the political parties is to find a scapegoat to blame.
The AIADMK government has been facing an onslaught of accusations from the opposing DMK. They have been criticized for lack of planning and administrative failures by the opposition. The DMK has even declared its intention of holding protests across the state on 22nd June in an attempt to urge the government to take stronger measures to address the shortfall.
However, the worst part of this entire debacle is the failure of the Government to acknowledge how bad the situation is on ground. The Chief Minister of the State K Palaniswami has actually made a statement saying that the “issue was not as big as was being made out, especially in the media”. He further added that “The media should not create an illusion of water scarcity using some stray incidents”.
Conclusion
As the situation worsens, the State Government continues to maintain that they will handle it until the monsoon arrives. The monsoon, though scheduled for October to December, is still unpredictable. The High Court has slammed the government and said that this is indeed a failure of the government to take adequate measures. The statements came in light of a petition being heard regarding the commercial exploitation of the groundwater.