Chennai suffers with no water

Acute shortage of water, and lack of rains have forced the residents of Chennai to go for deeper borewells. How is Chennai coping at this crucial hour?

The search for water is becoming more and more elusive in Chennai, and residents are now forced to go for deeper borewells.

On an average, one borewell contractor sinks about 30-40 borewells a month and there is nearly 10-20% increase in the demand. Residents in several areas have opted to sink double the depth in the past two months.

As Chennai has faced drought for three years in a row, there is more pressure on the already plummeting groundwater level. In the absence of piped water supply and owing to difficulty in getting a tanker load of water, residents are sinking borewells even up to 600 feet in suburban areas such as Ambattur, Pallavaram, Chromepet and Avadi. 

The wait for a tanker load of water supplied by Chennai Metrowater has got longer up to a month in some areas of the city. In a bid to address acute water shortage in the city, Metrowater is hiring vehicles with lesser carrying capacity to transport water and cut down on delay.