CHENNAI: Several hotels coping with the acute water shortage due to drought conditions in Chennai have come under extreme stress. They are struggling to meet the inflated prices of tanker water suppliers and irregular supply, as well.
There are over 8,000 hotels of different sizes and stature in the city and suburbs and a medium-scale hotel requires a minimum of 150 KL water on an average per day to maintain its operations. Though a majority of hotels meet the requirement for water through private suppliers, water has become scarce and expensive since the crisis erupted.
Aiming to mitigate the conditions, the executive committee members of South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) called on Chief Minister Eddappadi K. Palaniswami, recently and sought his immediate intervention. The delegation of hoteliers and restaurant owners led by T. Nataraajan, CEO, GRT Hotels and Resorts and Honorary Secretary, SIHRA; and Dr. M. Venkada Subbu, president of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association (TNHA) and executive committee member of SIHRA, discussed the current water shortage in Chennai with the CM. They sought a solution to ensure an increase in the supply of water.
Hotels and restaurants have been severely affected due to the depletion of groundwater levels in the city and also owing to the drying up of the four major reservoirs supplying water to the metro. Like a majority of residents, the hotels too are heavily dependent upon private water suppliers who inflate the prices.
According to one hotelier the hotels can’t include the spiraling price of water in the price of food items. “It is a really hard time for us,” he added.
Though the water crisis has not impacted the occupancy yet, the operations have been affected a lot. “First we have to constantly arrange for water supply, negotiate and surrender to the sudden high increase of water supply. Sometimes, we don’t know if we will get the replenishment at all. Further, the cost of the water has increased 50 to 100 % in the last few weeks,” he said.
The hospitality industry is also trying to sensitise the guests and visitors on the acute shortage of water. Many hotels have displayed notices in rooms and public areas asking guests to judiciously use water.
