Tamil Nadu may be heading for a severe drought, as reservoirs in the state are reportedly drying up at a rapid pace.
In an article for The New Indian Express, Nirupama Viswanathan reports that the water in the state’s reservoirs will only last three months, at best.
The report adds that all 74 tanks in Dharmapuri have gone dry, while the Amaravathi reservoir in Tirupur can last only for about three weeks. Kodaikanal receives water once every fortnight.
In Ariyalur, 12,000 acres of agriculture field were dependent on two water bodies, Siddhamalli and Marudhayar reservoirs, which have now gone bone dry, the TNIE report adds. The capital, too, is in serious trouble.
It was reported earlier that several areas in Chennai are already reeling from water scarcity, and that the TN government planned to tap water from 12 water bodies below sea level in Chennai.
Speaking at a seminar at the Indian Meteorological Society and Regional Meteorological Centre, Revenue Administration Commissioner K Satyagopal said that desilting is usually done up to sea level but the new plan is to do it much deeper to save a larger amount of water.
The meteorological department has predicted rains in Chennai in March.
In 2016, Tamil Nadu had received the lowest ever rainfall since 1876. According to data from the Indian Meteorological Department, rainfall in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 2016 was just a little over 9mm higher than the record low of 1876. IMD statistics showed that Tamil Nadu and Puducherry suffered large deficits of 62% and 79% respectively.
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