Chennai Water Crisis: Millions Hit as City’s Reservoirs And Groundwater Resources Run Dry

Millions of residents in Chennai, India’s sixth biggest city, are facing a severe water crisis as supplies dry up due to worst drought in the states in decades. The lack of rainfall in the previous year has led to city’s major reservoirs running dry. The ground water levels have also depleted due to excessive use of bore wells. The scarcity of water has hit lower income groups the most as they are unable to afford the rising cost of private tanker water. The authorities have now resorted to rationing of water in several areas where the supplies are scarce. In some areas, methods like tokens and a draw of lots is used to distribute water from municipal tankers and community wells. Chennai is one of 21 cities that a government think-tank warned last year could run out of ground water by 2020. This year's monsoon is delayed, further compounding problems across a swath of western and central India.