Water crisis worries Chennai schools as summer vacation nears end

CHENNAI: Amid a severe water crisis, nearly one million students in and around Chennai would return to schools that open on June 3 after summer vacation. Though many schools are managing with existing borewells and Metrowater supply, they are worried that the situation could go from bad to worse when running in full capacity.
A few private schools are planning to source water from farm wells in the suburbs using private tankers as there is no guarantee that Metrowater would supply them. A school with around 2,000 students needs around 20,000 litres of water for sanitary purposes and 2,000 litres of drinking water daily.
V Shanthi, headmistress of Vidyodaya Girls Higher Secondary School in T Nagar, said the school has two borewells. “But we don’t know whether these would be enough once we reopen. Girls need more water. But postponing reopening by a week is not a solution,” she said.
Prescillal Premavathy, correspondent of CSI Bain School in Kilpauk, said the demand for water would be known once all students come in. “We are managing the crisis now. But we are not sure whether we can supply enough water to the students after reopening,” she said. The school has more than 3,500 students.
Many government and corporation schools do not have groundwater and are dependent on Metrowater. “We need Metrowater supply at least on alternate days to run the school,” said E Iraivan, headmaster, Chennai Boys Higher Secondary School in Nungambakkam. In that area, Metrowater is supplying water once in two weeks.
CBSE schools confirmed that they would reopen following an order from the school education department. Sunitha Vipinchandran, principal of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, said, “We have borewells and additionally plan to buy Metrowater on alternate days to meet the requirement.” There are 2,400-plus students in the school. Sunitha said she was more worried about the heat than the water crisis. “We hope the government would reconsider reopening of schools and postpone it at least by a week,” she said.
In Tambaram, a few schools have tied up with farmers to draw water from farm wells. “This is to ensure continuous supply,” said N Vijayan, founder and principal of Zion Matric Higher Secondary School.
Principal of another school said schools can be reopened in a phased manner. “We suggest opening schools for higher classes on June 3 and for lower classes in the second week of June,” he said.
Educationist Prince Gajendrababu said the state government should seek a report from collectors about the situation. “The collectors should be asked to ensure water supply to schools. Without water there would be serious health risks,” he said.
When contacted, V C Rameswaramurugan, director of school education, said, “The department has considered all the aspects before deciding on the date. The chief educational officers have been asked to ensure water supply to government schools. If the schools are not opened on June 3, the academic schedule would be affected since the syllabi for Classes X, XI and XII were revised. The new syllabus requires more time.”