Chennai (Madras) - India's 6th-Largest City - Completely Out Of Water As Its 4 Reservoirs Dry Up
Millions of people are turning to water tank trucks in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu as house and hotel taps run dry because of an acute water shortage caused by drying lakes and depleted groundwater.
State Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani said on Wednesday that the drought followed a 62 per cent shortfall in monsoon rains last year compared to 2017.
People are lining up for water cans in the state capital, Chennai. Hotels in the southeastern city of 4.6 million are rationing water for guests amid searing heat. All four reservoirs that supply Chennai, known as the Detroit of south Asia for its flourishing automobile industry, have run dry this summer, largely because of poor monsoon rains last year.
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. Water storage levels in the city's four major reservoirs were one-hundredth of what they were this time last year — and at a mere 0.2 per cent of capacity, according to state government data.
EDIT
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/india-water-shortage-drought-chennai-1.5181641
