How is Chennai tackling water crisis? Hand pumps near beach offer temporary solution

Many residents of Chennai have even started considering daily bath a luxury and finding adequate water for drinking, doing laundry and dishwashing has become a nightmare due to the water scarcity in the city. But people have found a way to survive by installing temporary hand pumps near Marina Beach to extract groundwater as the borewells have gone dry.

Tamil Nadu: People facing acute water crisis in Chennai after borewells go dry in the city. Locals have installed hand-pumps near Marina Beach to extract groundwater. pic.twitter.com/veRWv4ZpZz

— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2019

Early this year, 24 districts, including Chennai, were declared drought-affected by the state government.

A deficit rainfall during the 2017 northeast monsoon and failed monsoon in 2018 has resulted in depletion of groundwater and near drying up of major waterbodies and has pushed residents at the mercy of water-tanker operators.