Tanvi Patel | thebetterindia.com | June 29, 2019, 10:50 am
The Chennai droughts have made not just national but international news. Most residents of the Tamil Nadu capital, whether young or old, rich or poor have been brought to the mercy of a couple hours’ supply of tap water or purchased water tanks. Businesses have come to a standstill, families are compromising on their daily chores, and Chennai is reeling under a perpetual thirst, thanks to the drought.
Residents are praying for rainfall, which will recharge the local water bodies. The tanks, they are aware, are not a sustainable solution. Sooner or later, they too will run out of water. Today, the tanker costs between Rs 4,000-5,000. The day isn’t far when this amount will not be enough to purchase a few hundred litres of water. A report by NITI Aayog has concluded that 21 major Indian cities will run out of water by 2020. Chennai, as it looks, is already facing this horrible prospect.
“Tamil Nadu received less than average rainfall in 2003 and 2004, and so, for the people who implemented the harvesting system, the results were not evident. In the following year, however, we got heavy rain which replenished the groundwater. This was reinforcement enough for thousands of residents to acknowledge and appreciate the benefits of harvesting water. Even then, my studies showed that about 40 per cent of the total buildings actually implemented good quality systems. The benefits of which we can experience today,” the doctor says.
FULL ARTICLE: www.thebetterindia.com
Save