Chennai: With borewells and groundwater depleting, demand for fresh water has increased three fold against the usual supply in Greater Chennai.
Administrators at Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) are also working on new strategies to bail out the capital city from the clutches of unprecedented drought.
Water managers are also pinning hopes that by July, the neighbouring Andhra may be in position to supply water from Kandaleru and are also pinning hopes for the summer rains in delta region so that the water can be tapped from Veeranam tank.
According to CMWSSB managing director V. Arun Roy, the board has been maintained a daily supply of 580 mld water and is reaching out to the tail end areas and congested pockets through tankers. The usual demand during non-summer season (example October - December) is around 4,000 lorry trips per day and during summer or situations like drought the demand increases by many folds. The metro water had increased the daily tanker trips to an average of 6,200 per day, the official said.
According to private water tanker association members, demand for drinking water in Chennai had increased three fold due to drought and the failure of borewells. "All the seven days in the week are now peak days for us and due to demand private tankers had increased the price by 20 to 25 per cent," said S. Prakash, a private water supplier.
