Jones Tower in the Puzhal Lake, Red Hills. | Photo Credit: The Hindu archives
One of the abiding memories is a photograph from The Hindu. Each year, come summer, this would pop up – a shot of the Jones Tower, in the Puzhal Lake, Red Hills. Under it would be a caption on how much water there is, which in turn meant so many days water supply to the city. And then if it does not rain, or if the Krishna water is not released, or if the tankers go on strike, etc, there will be hell to pay. Chennai’s water shortage is an enduring side light in our history.
There are some who lament that it is in these modern times that we are reduced to buying water. A study of city history would show them that the British were doing just that. Water came in earthenware pots by bullock cart to Fort St. George on payment. The means have changed – we now get it via pipe, tanker, bubble top and sachet. The story is the same. And then there is the other comment – which brainless fellow decided to settle a city where there is no permanent source of water? Well, we were all brainless enough to follow were we not?
The problem is one of a population that keeps outstripping all attempts at planning. And of unscrupulous elements that have taken advantage of the same. The various reports in The Hindu make for interesting reading. In 1914, the Governor, Lord Pentland was congratulating the Corporation for ensuring “copious flow of water and of high degree of purity.” That was when the Kilpauk Water Works was inaugurated. In 1939 the paper was writing of “an ancient problem yet unsolved,” and in a comprehensive note, tracing all that had gone wrong in the interim. A year later it was time to rejoice at the inauguration of the Poondi scheme, hailed as a “landmark in the history of the Madras water supply.”
Turning to faith
The 1950s were once again a period of trouble. And from then on, till the 1990s, we took refuge as much in science as in faith. In 1952, Rajaji, then Chief Minister, asked for prayers to be conducted for rain. The Dawoodi Bohras were first off the mark and got their head to offer “solemn prayers” at Red Hills. Lo, and behold, there was a downpour. A counter claim came from P. Venkatachellum, they of the condiments fame, stating that the rain was due to laksharchana offered at the family’s Dakshinamurthy temple in Washermenpet. Many years later, the MGR Government invited a man from Kerala who claimed to induce rains by electromagnetic waves via a cordless phone. And we had pictures of Kunnakkudy Vaidyanathan playing amritavarshini raga in the Mylapore tank. Attention then shifts to the Palar and water from the Krishna, which has a history too long to repeat here.
Rainwater harvest
Rainwater harvesting would solve the problem if implemented in full said Sekar Raghavan and nobody took notice until Chief Minister Jayalalithaa made it compulsory, at least on paper. But many did take to it and saw the benefits. Sadly, the real estate lobby still largely bypasses the regulation. We then read of drawing water from the wells in the periphery of the city and those localities protesting. There are articles on the tanker mafia. At the same time, we get to read of the desalination plants being commissioned. And of empty granite quarries being tapped for water. There were water trains from other states. And finally, in 2019, we have news of a new reservoir to store rainwater in the city – the last one was built in 1940! In the interim we had the floods of 2015. And we got more water than we knew what to do with. There were many resolutions made about being more responsible in future. And to save waterbodies. Most of that was forgotten but some people have remembered and there is a positive change. It may take a long while for results to show but we need to live in hope. Till then, photos of Jones Tower, plastic water pots and tweets from Leonardo DiCaprio about Day Zero in Chennai will make it to the news.
