Chennai: Amidst the long and agonising wait with empty pots to fetch drinking water and several areas in the metro virtually going dry, State Municipal and Rural Administration Minister SP Velumani on Monday claimed that a false impression is being created that there is acute water scarcity in the
city.
"A false impression is being created that there is acute scarcity for water in the city. This is not so. I appeal to the public not to give credence to such malicious campaign," Mr. Velumani said without naming anyone in particular.
Speaking to reporters at the Ripon building here the Minister said the government has been ensuring water supply throughout the city and is simultaneously addressing shortages.
Chennai had not seen rain for over 190 days and inspite of this, Amma's (former CM J. Jayalalithaa) government is striving to provide water on regular basis. “Our officials are rushing to solve any problems that arise,” Mr. Velumani said and added that the government has instructed the officials to act quickly on any issues that arise. “We are monitoring everything, we have created teams - zone wise, to tackle the issues. Also a toll free number is in place to respond to the public and we are ready to deal with any complaints,” he said.
On media reports on hotels and offices running out of water, the Minister denied saying many hotels purchased water from private suppliers. “They may be facing a shortfall in supply due to depletion of ground water levels,” he said. “We have told hotels to save water being used to wash vessels. If any private lorry refuses to come, we will talk and tell them to go. We are ready to solve any problems,” he assured.
When asked about the IT companies along the OMR asking their employees to 'work from home,' Mr. Velumani claimed that the practice was common. “IT
companies and hotel associations have spoken to me. There is no closure of hotel. This is false propaganda. People in
IT field work from home in a routine manner. When there is a problem tell us, but some people are instigating issues,” he said.
