Chennai: When the rest of the city is facing water crisis and the government is taking measures to address it, K K Nagar residents are leading in rainwater harvesting (RWH).
The residents welfare associations in the locality have understood the importance of water and started planting trees and setting up rainwater management in every household.
Take the case of Thiru Nagar at Jafferkhanpet. They have been implementing the RWH for last 10 years and almost all their roofs are connected to wells or small pits made near their house borewells.
Thiru Nagar Residents Welfare Association president A Parthiban said, “We have implemented RWH systems and been planting trees for the last 10 years. Along with Vasudhevan Colony and Sapthagiri Colony, we started the Green City project. The aim of the project is to develop RWH in every household and plant trees in the locality. We have achieved this when residents of the whole city are struggling to meet their water needs.”
“Due to our water management measures, our borewells never run dry and the groundwater is increasing. Water is available at 70-80 feet for borewells, which is quite rare in the city. The parks and playgrounds in the locality are equipped with RWH and our association is taking care of it with periodic checks,” Parthiban added.
Second and Fourth sector residents welfare associations at K K Nagar also echoed the view of Parthiban and said their residents did not buy tanker water while major areas of the city are dependent on them.
Bharadhidasan Colony has water supply for all the 642 houses in the colony through their wells. The colony has five wells and they are named after famous rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Tamarabarani, Cauvery and Godavari. All roofs are connected to a well and rainwater is saved through our RWH.
Chennai water crisis have gained world attention after international media and Hollywood stars started speaking about the crisis. They even said Chennai would be the next Cape Town (South Africa) if they don’t start by saving every drop of rainwater. Experts urged the State government to take strict measures in implementing RWH in every household and commercial building to save the city from future crisis.