India's sixth largest city 'runs out of water'

[TruthTheOnlyDefense]

© Getty Images Empty water pots in Chennai, which has run out of water

The southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly Madras) is in crisis after its four main water reservoirs ran completely dry.

The acute water crisis has prompted the city to scramble for urgent solutions, including drilling new boreholes.

Residents have been forced to stand in line for hours to get water from government tanks, and restaurants have had to close due to the water shortage.

"Only rain can save Chennai from this situation," an official told BBC Tamil.

The city, which, according to the 2011 census, is India's sixth largest, has been in the grip of a severe water shortage for weeks now.

As the reservoirs started to run dry, many hotels and restaurants shut down temporarily. The Chennai metro has turned off air conditioning in the stations, while offices have asked staff to work from home in a bid to conserve water.

© Getty Images People queue to get water from government trucks

Vinoth Kaligai, the general secretary of an IT workers association, confirmed that some firms have told employees to stay at home. "But homes are also running out of water, so what are we supposed to do?" he added.

The situation has also prompted clashes to break out between residents. Last week, police arrested a man for stabbing his neighbour during a fight over water-sharing in the neighbourhood.

• 'There is no water. Why should people stay here?'
• The ambitious water project that failed to prevent drought

Officials are trying to find alternative sources of water, with the city's water department starting to identify and extract water from quarries.

But the big concern is the dry reservoirs and low groundwater levels.

© Getty Images The search is now on for new sources of water

"The only way to make this better is to improve the groundwater level," Nakkeeran, a social activist, said. "We've had dry years before but the groundwater was our saviour."

The water crisis has also meant that the majority of the city has to solely depend on Chennai's water department, which has been distributing water through government trucks across neighbourhoods.

"The destruction has just begun," an official said. "If the rain fails us this year too, we are totally destroyed."

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/worl...-city-runs-out-of-water/ar-AAD4bhd?li=BBr8YXK

But India is a rich country, where everything is fine.

 

[casual]

here's a good video reporting on this from Quint

Official government response is to instruct local Hindu shrines to pray to some rain god lol

 

[xyxmt]

Met an south Indian guy who just came back from India and he was saying the water shortage is at extremely dangerous level. But glad Modi has singed the Raphael contract to teach Pakistan a lesson, yet both water every and exit in human body is a huge problem.

 

[RPK]

I live here, same Chennai is flooded in 2015 and 2016. Local government is useless after late CM Jayalaitha

 

[YeBeWarned]

Every Country has its problems , the reason Third world countries becomes the highlight in western media is because they want to down play such countries . If third world countries can get strict laws to fight corruption a lot things can be fixed .

 

[Yaseen1]

india is under wrath of ALLAH ALMIGHTY and will face destruction soon due to increase in their antiIslamic attitude during modi govt

 

[Protest_again]

india is under wrath of ALLAH ALMIGHTY and will face destruction soon due to increase in their antiIslamic attitude during modi govt

Tamil Nadu doesn't have a Modi govt. It is one of the very few states where he doesn't have any sway.

So as you said may be ALLAH ALMIGHTY is punishing them for not electing Modi. Had it been Modi, situation would not have been like this.

 

[jetray]

I live here, same Chennai is flooded in 2015 and 2016. Local government is useless after late CM Jayalaitha

The late CM was very late in doing things thats why you are suffering now. As the court rightly observed that water shortage dint take place in a day or two. It is due to generations of neglect that is showing results now.

 

[RPK]

The late CM was very late in doing things thats why you are suffering now. As the court rightly observed that water shortage dint take place in a day or two. It is due to generations of neglect that is showing results now.

It is because last two to three years nothing happened on water resource management. If she was there it won’t be this problem. Read about varanam Scheme and Krishna river water sharing. Current Government Running like headless chickens

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/m.ti...ier-for-the-city/amp_articleshow/68960792.cms

 

[rambro]

Every Country has its problems , the reason Third world countries becomes the highlight in western media is because they want to down play such countries . If third world countries can get strict laws to fight corruption a lot things can be fixed .

Be effective and u will get labelled as dictator, authoritarian and so forth.

 

[nomi007]

not a big issue
Rafale is coming

 

[B.K.N]

I live here, same Chennai is flooded in 2015 and 2016. Local government is useless after late CM Jayalaitha

In 2015_16 it was flooded due to heavy rains and now ran out of water because of no rains so what government has got to do with it

 

[beijingwalker]

In 2015_16 it was flooded due to heavy rains and now ran out of water because of no rains so what government has got to do with it

Beautiful democracy..

 

[B.K.N]

Beautiful democracy..

But rains have nothing to do with form of government

 

[beijingwalker]

But rains have nothing to do with form of government

That what a totalitarian government can do for the people living the the world second biggest desert where has basically no rainfall at all. Yes, wea are totalitarian country that village officials have to work at the site to make sure that they can get things done on time or before the deadline, otherwise they may be punished or demoted.



Xinjiang ensured safe drinking water for the poorest families living in the desert, safe drinking water projects covers every one and no one is left behind, now every family living in the desert has access to running water which is safe for drinking.
Before people living in the desert had to get water from some muddy puddles which always had dead animals in them, people developed many health problems by drinking that putrid water. Now every household is connected to the running water systems which provide safe clean drinking water, people now developed healthy habits of brushing teeth and take daily showers, the health standard in the desert region has been greatly improved.

图尔荪托乎提老人对家乡饮水味道的记忆，印证了新疆农村群众饮水质量的提升过程。据和田市农村供水饮水管理站副主任阿不都卡地尔·阿不都拉介绍，为了让群众告别缺水、喝涝坝水的历史，1995年和田地区农村组织打井提取地下水，但地下水含氟量、硬度、碱度等多项指标均超过饮用水标准，只解决了群众对用水量的需求。2017年起，当地开始实施农村饮水安全巩固提升工程，中央和地方仅在和田市阿克恰勒乡就投资1400多万元，建了自来水厂，采用15道工序处理苦咸水，截至目前，全乡5500多人喝上了放心安全的自来水。

　　这是天山南北越来越多贫困农牧村庄饮水质量安全得到保障的缩影。记者从新疆维吾尔自治区水利厅了解到，2012年-2018年底，新疆农村饮水安全巩固提升工程累计解决了300多万贫困人口的饮水安全问题。今明两年内，新疆还将建设运行120项饮水安全工程，帮助剩余36.1万贫困人口用上放心安全的饮用水，实现不漏一户、不落一人。

http://www.xinhuanet.com/local/2019-05/06/c_1124458334.htm

Village officials have to work at the site to make sure that they can get things done on time or before the deadline, otherwise they may be punished or demoted.