Chennai’s severe water scarcity has hit several hostels, paying guest facilities and mansions. There are more than 1,000 working women’s hostels across Chennai where people from outside the city stay and go to work. These hostels predominantly are situated in leased out buildings and apartments.
The crippling water shortage has forced many hostels and mansions to impose restrictions on their inmates regarding water usage. While some hostels in Chennai say they are getting by, others have cut water supply, forcing boarders to depend on bubbletop water cans for their daily needs.
TNM spoke to a few such hostels to get a picture of how they are coping up with the water scarcity in the city.
Dependent on borewell water
“We have 50-60 inmates here and we don’t have a water crunch as of now. We are dependent on our own borewell for water and things are going on smooth now,” says an employee of a popular working women’s hostel in Mylapore. She adds that since they have their own borewell, the water situation has not hit them hard.
Jyothi, 31, who resides in a service apartment in Mogappair, Chennai, says that they have not had any issues with water supply till now. “We get running water throughout the day here. I have seen tankers around my service apartment once or twice. But as of now, there is no rationing here,” she adds.
Women vacate hostels for want of water
Ekkatuthangal, a suburb of Chennai near Guindy, is home to many industries and tech parks. A boarder at a popular hostel in Ekkatuthangal says the situation is difficult. “In our hostel, we get water only for an hour or so every day. If we don’t take a bath by then, then we will not get water for the rest of the day. The hostel authorities are telling us that there is water scarcity everywhere and that is why the situation is like this,” she says, adding that water rationing in her hostel is recent and it began only a month ago.
“Two of my roommates have vacated and moved back to their native places because there is no water here. I will be vacating next month,” she adds.
OMR dependent on tankers
However, the situation changes drastically as we move towards south Chennai, where working women’s hostels are in abundance. Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) which is dotted by IT companies has been in the news for water shortage. Companies have been asking employees to work from home and have adopted various water rationing measures like restricted access to bathrooms and limited water flow in taps.
Rekha, who stays in a working women’s hostel in Kandanchavadi, OMR says that while the locality has never received piped water supply, the situation isn’t much of a problem as yet.
“We have always got water only from tankers. So that has not changed. The apartment in which the hostel is manages the water they buy well. So, we get advance intimation if there is going to be a deficit. That time, we save water in buckets and pots. But for that situation seems under control for now,” she explains.
As of Monday, the water levels in Chennai’s four major lakes – Chembarambakkam, Poondi, Redhills and Cholavaram – stood at 26 mcft, which is a mere 0.23% of the total water-holding capacity available in these lakes. Meanwhile, the state government continues to downplay and deny that there is a water crisis gripping the city.