All the news concerning a water crisis in Chennai, which have been circulating in the past few days, are false, SP Velumani, the state Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister, said on Monday. He alleged that false news on a shortage of drinking water supply is being spread on purpose, to create fear in the minds of the residents.
While attending a review meet on water supply in Chennai’s local bodies, Velumani said efforts to supply drinking water has already begun on a war-footing at a cost of Rs 625 crore approximately.
Water supply is being increased by digging more borewells and providing water tankers, he added.
The minister, however, admitted that the amount of drinking water being supplied to both the urban and rural reaches has been cut down to 7,300 million litre a day (MLD) because of the alarmingly low water level in the storage reservoirs.
While stressing on raising awareness on water conservation among residents, Velumani asked residents to call the helpline number -- 044-45674567 -- to report any incident of water scarcity.
He also warned concerned officials of punitive measures that will be taken in case they don’t respond to water supply complaints from residential areas. The officials posted in other parts of the state were also asked to launch a toll-free number for residents to report water scarcity.
He added: “Committees to monitor the water supply in residential areas have been formed in all the zones of the city.”
Additionally, an application – the Kaizal App -- has been developed for IAS officers, which will help them inspect all localities across Chennai while resolving water supply issues. The officers will have to start visiting various zones from 6 am and mitigate all issues concerning water scarcity, reported The Hindu.
Notably, the level of water stored in the four reservoirs of Chennai has dipped to a mere 26 million cubic feet. The Veeranam tank supplies more than 500 million cubic feet of water to Chennai.
Steps have been taken to ensure 525 MLD of water is supplied to the residents of Chennai by November. Meanwhile, the industrial water supply of 40 MLD has been cut down to increase the supply of potable water for Chennai residents.
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