Amid fears that there would be severe water crisis in Chennai this summer, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani has said the city will not face any water crisis this summer, as the government has undertaken various measures to ensure that 550 million litres a day (mld) of water are made available to residents till December. He said this while replying to DMK president and Leader of Opposition M K Stalin, who raised the issue of an impending water crisis in the Assembly and sought a White Paper on the mitigation work undertaken by the government so far.
"Then Amma (Jayalalithaa) tackled the drought be ensuring a supply of 550 million litres to the residents in Chennai. The drinking water was harnessed from borewells, 22 quarries, Veeranam and Poondi lakes besides water from desalination plants. This time we have elaborately planned to cope with the situation by taking up appropriate works," Velumani said.
He also said that though the State had received 54 per cent less rainfall during 2018, the government would follow the 2017 model in tackling the drought-like situation. Velumani said the city will not face scarcity as 4 tmc ft of water from the Krishna river will reach the metropolis by April. He said all other districts in Tamilnadu are also ready to tackle water problems.
