The water shortage in Chennai has severely hit not just the residents, but several industries too. So far, nearly 100 hostels in Chennai’s neighbourhoods have been shut down. As per the Chennai Hostel Owners’ Welfare Association, 350 owners of at least 100 hostels have stopped the operations and asked residents to leave the establishment, the Indian Expres reported.
More hostels would be closed down in the next few weeks if the water crisis does not abate, K S Manoharan, the secretary of the association, told the publication.
Confirming the same, Shobana Madhavan, who is the president of the association, said despite booking private tankers weeks ago, many hostel owners are still waiting for water. To make matters worse, the private water tankers have also increased their rate to to Rs 3,500-4,000, which was earlier Rs 1500, she says.
Another industry hit by the water shortage is the IT sector. Many IT firms have asked their employees to work from home. Restaurants too have drastically cut-down their operations.
No water, long queues result in clashes
A 33-year-old social activist named Anand Babu was beaten to death after a heated argument with the neighbours who were trying to store a large quantity of water in Vilar South Colony, which is around 5 km from Thanjavur town.
In a similar case in a Chennai suburb last week, Aathimoolam Ramakrishnan stabbed his neighbour Mohan’s wife with a sharp object after she came in support of her husband who switched on the motor to draw water.
‘Crisis manufactured and exaggerated’
Meanwhile, the AIADMK government has denied reports of water shortage in Chennai. On Monday, Rural and Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani stated that the authorities are capable of maintaining required water supply in Chennai until November, and called news reports of IT employees being requested to work from home due to water crisis as ‘manufactured’.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami also said that the reports about water scarcity in the state is being exaggerated by the media.
TN Hariharan, managing director of Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, told The Indian Express that the crisis is not as disturbing as it is being projected and revealed that regular supply of water from Chennai metro water was 830 million litres a day (MLD) and has now come down to 525 MLD.
Hariharan added that the water sources such as Sholavaram, Red Hills and Chemabarambakkam lakes have totally dried up. However, they are maintaining water supply through other sources and it can be managed till November.