Chennai: This summer, residents in and around Anna Nagar are a worried lot due to water scarcity in the neighbourhood. They depend on Metro water tankers that supply water once in two days. But, those living in Asiad Colony, Thirumangalam, Anna Nagar West Extension are not bothered because they are getting enough water from borewells.
Speaking to News Today, K Ratnasingam, president of Asiad Colony Flat Owners’ Welfare Association said, “During rainy season, we harvest rainwater in pits dug close to the wells. We follow the practise even before the Corporation made it compulsory to harvest rain water. We planned for more harvesting pits in our colony and now we enjoy the benefits.” At present, there were seven wells and six borewells that supply water to all 312 residents in this colony.
“Scarcity of water is a common issue. But instead of blaming the government for this issue, we planned to overcome it by implementing the ideas given by experts in this field. Metro water officials were also surprised because there were no complaints from our colony regarding water supply,” he added.
Ratnasingam said, “On 13 April, we had a meeting in our association office. Many participated in it and gave their opinions to overcome water scarcity. They came forward to render extra money along with maintenance charge to meet water demand. Without collecting additional money, we are able to provide 800 litres of water to all residents.”
“We provide 200 litres of drinking water on alternative days. The trees and plants in our colony looks more green because we also give preference for it by watering them twice in a week. If we give water during summer to trees, we get it back in through rain. There were 80 trees in our colony. We strongly believe that many trees in the locality will definitely bring us more rain. We are planning to increase the depth of borewell from 120 to 200 feet to meet water demand in future.”
“Many residents in the locality will come to the park attached to this colony, which is maintained by us well. In 2000, we came up with a water fountain which is operated everyday between 5 pm to 7 pm,” he mentioned.
He can be contacted at 98412 99563.