Chennai is all set to receive water from Jolarpet by train in a fortnight. However, nearly four decades ago, when the city faced a similar water crisis, the State government had mulled bringing water by sea.
It was in 1983 that Chennai faced an acute water scarcity, just as now. The State government was then given a proposal to transport water from other States by sea.
High-committee meeting
Raj Mohindra, who was then working as manager (tankers), Shipping Corporation of India, recalls the proposal he had prepared for the Tamil Nadu government. A high-committee meeting was convened by the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran on the proposal to bring water from Paradip Port, Odisha, through large tanker ships that essentially transported oil.
It all started with the Oil Coordination Committee, Union Ministry of Petroleum, seeking support from the Shipping Corporation of India to chalk out a contingency plan for transporting water to Chennai.
In the feasibility report dated April 15, 1983, that Mr. Mohindra shared with The Hindu, it was proposed that freshwater from Taldanda canal would be brought to Paradip Port through a 3.5-km pipeline, loaded in tanker ships and transported to the Chennai Port. Tanker ships with a capacity to carry up to 55,000 metric tonnes of water were to be used, the report said.
“We were transporting crude oil from Gulf countries to various coastal refineries in the country. Chennai’s requirement then was about 120 million litres a day. The city was only provided with about 70 mld then and reservoirs were fast drying up,” recalls Mr. Mohindra.
Supply from Odisha
He had prepared a report in two days, highlighting the availability of copious resource in Taldanda canal, Odisha. The report was prepared after consultation with Japan and the Gulf countries, as they shared a similar arrangement.
“Water cannot be transported in tanker ships without crude oil washing, as it would be contaminated. We suggested that floating vessels could be used to filter water. It could then be conveyed to the Red Hills reservoir through pipeline,” he said.
Mr. Mohindra, who is based in Mumbai, said he then rushed to Chennai for the meeting. But the feasibility report was not examined, as rains lashed the city in a few days and the plan was dropped.
Weather experts noted that there was a lull in rainfall during the first half of 1983 in the city. Y.E.A. Raj, former deputy director general of meteorology, Chennai, said the city had a deficit Northeast monsoon during the previous year, and a prolonged dry period till June 1983. As the Northeast monsoon failed again in 1983, the government started a cloud seeding operation in 1984.
Mr. Mohindra has drawn the State government’s attention to the old proposal. “We now have better technology and facilities. The government could launch a feasibility study to identify sources and bring water to Chennai by sea based on the proposal,” he added.