According to officials, the Chennai Metro Water Board started collecting water samples from a sizable number of water bodies.
It has also sought help from the PWD to desilt the water bodies.
According to officials, the Chennai Metro Water Board started collecting water samples from a sizable number of water bodies.
Officials have also sought help from the public works department to desilt water bodies to increase the storage levels.
“As of now, we are drawing water from four lakes – Chembarambakkam, Poondi, Cholavaram and Red Hills – and we also tap water from Porur lake, if needed.
To supply drinking water without interruption, the board has decided to draw water from more water bodies,” said an official, CMWSSB.
Since such water bodies might have polluted water, it is vital for them to conduct a quality check, added the official.
As such, water experts have welcomed the move.
However, still there are around 100 water bodies including a score of lakes left.
If all the remaining water-bodies are desilted and maintained properly, water storage would increase and there would be no water scarcity in the city,” said a former PWD chief engineer.

MUMBAI: The guardian ministers would review the drought situation in the 201 out of 358 talukas in the state, the council of ministers under the chairmanship of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis decided at their meeting here on Tuesday.
The situation in the rural area is grim with almost 200 of 367 talukas battling the scarcity conditions.
"We are following the drought manual prepared by the Centre in 2016 and that has helped us in planning everything well in advance.
We are collecting information on several aspects related to the drought condition and for that purpose, we decided at the council of ministers that all the ministers would tour the talukas to review the process of collection of the information on drought," Fadnavis told the reporters after the meeting here at the state secretariat.
Only 77 percent less of the average rainfall has been recorded in 201 of the 358 talukas of the state," he added.
The state government had last week launched "Maha Madat" website and App to keep track of monsoon activity in the state, the crop situation, moisture content in the soil and underground water table.
Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Chandrakant Patil had said while launching the app that a survey using remote sensing satellite imagery would be done and based on six parameters laid down by the Center in determining drought conditions between October 5 to October 25, the drought would be declared by October 31.
While officials from agriculture department informed the council of ministers during today’ meeting that nine districts in the state are worst affected by the drought, minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot said that the cotton is the worst hit crop due to the drought.
"According to primary reports received from the disaster management teams, as of today, 201 talukas from Yevtamal, Chandrapur, Nanded, Jalgaon, Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Dhule, Satara and Sagli districts are in alarming situation.
Among these districts, the yield on 1,41,255 hectare agriculture land is badly affected by the drought as it the rains were below average," the minister said adding that cotton, soybean, Tur (pigeon pea), Urad (Black Gram) and Moong (Green Gram) are the most affected crops in the state.

To avert the impending water crisis, the Supreme Court is pushing to start the Diamer-Bhasha dam, for which the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) has requested the nation to donate funds.
These days funding for Diamer-Bhasha Dam has divided the masses into two camps; one camp favours the building of the dam, whilst the other side opposes the project claiming that public financing is not viable option, what the government needs is a comprehensive strategy to make the dam.
Pakistan at the moment is in desperate need of the dam and the apprehension of the CJP about water crisis is also appropriate.
Archaic irrigation practices and uneven water distribution systems are the fundamental basis of this water-intensive economy Apart from the dearth of dams, many other factors also contribute to water scarcity; the extravagant use of water, contamination of the water, outmoded irrigation methods, climate changes, the rundown state of the sewage system, and the rapid growth of urbanisation are the primary causes behind water scarcity.
Along with this, the sewage system of Pakistan is also responsible for water scarcity.
Pakistan is ranked 7 on the index of countries suffering from climate change.
The Government of Pakistan also should transform the irrigation system into drip irrigation, by convincing landlords giving incentive to poor farmers.
Moreover, overhauling the defective sewage system is also inevitable, since leakage of water from pipes occur and it seeps into the surface of the earth, which causes water pollution and leads to scarcity.
Climate change effects water scarcity, so the government needs to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases as well as other gases that are responsible for climate change.
Only by making dams, the water crisis won’t be averted.

How can a government ignore its own people in a time when they frantically need its support?
After a year or two, the drought regularly occurs in Thar so why doesn’t government set up a project for the effected masses that usually migrate to western districts.
The project which can provide some sort of relief to the people and their livestock for a time until drought disappears.
Government should initiate manageable relief centres in all five Talukas of the district Tharparker where the effected livestock as well as people can get proper water and fodder so that they at least avoid going far away from their villages.
This will not cost too much but will be a giant step towards providing a bit of solace to the people of Thar Thar Coal Project has been going on in the area.
Moreover, they utilized the same water for planting the trees and vegetables.
If the company can do this, why doesn’t government?
Small brackish water reservoirs can be built in remote villages of the district and the same water should be used to plant trees and vegetable so that the people and their livestock can get suitable fodder for themselves.
Moreover, the solar driven RO Plants can also be fixed at those brackish water reservoirs so that people of those villages can get easy access to fresh water.
Besides government, Non-governmental agencies have also provided RO plants in Thar but none of those entities ensures the sustainability of those time bound projects.

As the State readies to battle water scarcity and the possibility of drought looms large, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed all ministers to visit tehsils facing water problems and submit a detailed report before October 31, on Tuesday.
200 talukas Around 200 talukas in Maharashtra are facing “scarcity-like” conditions, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
“A decision of declaring the talukas as scarcity-hit will be taken by October 31.
Later, a Central team will visit to review the situation and then a decision of declaring drought will be taken, since such a decision is in the Centre’s domain,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
According to data from the State’s Water Resource Department, Maharashtra is left with 64.32% water in all dams, as compared to 74.68% on October 9, 2017.
Marathwada is facing the worst crisis with only 26.75% water stored compared to 65.60% last year.
Nasik revenue division is also facing the heat with 64.84% water remaining in its dams.
Last year, the dams were filled up to 82.24% of their actual capacity.
Marathwada and Nasik revenue divisions are the biggest beneficiaries with 198 and 125 tankers currently being used.
(With inputs from PTI)

APC chieftain, Bola Tinubu has stated that the clashes between farmers and herdsmen, which has resulted in loss of lives and properties, is caused by scarcity of water.
Tinubu made this known at a national summit on conflict resolution organised by the Nation and TV Continental, ‘Towards an Enduring Peace.’ According to the former governor of Lagos State, the herdsmen have been forced to move down South due to the unavailability of water caused by the desertification of the North, has forced them to move down South which has enough water and pasture.
Represented at the event by Sunday Dare, one of the Executive Commissioner of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Tinubu said, “The government must help herders gradually shift from their traditional nomadic existence to a more static lifestyle.
We have to face the reality that modernity is making the nomadic way counterproductive and inefficient.
Unoccupied, isolated land can quickly be turned into grazing areas in the affected states.
In the long run, this will enable herders to better maintain their livestock and thus their own livelihood.
“An acutely thirsty man remembers neither Bible nor Quran very well until his thirst is quenched.
Dire need often pushes a man to behave as if bereft of compassion for a person in equally dire circumstance.
“No doubt the problem has exacerbated during the past decade.
We must assume climate change plays a role”.

12 out of 15 talukas in Marathwada are facing rainfall deficit Will soon activate Centre’s drought manual, said Maharashtra CM Fadnavis State government criticised by Congress, NCP for neglecting water shortage problem Under pressure from the Opposition over his government’s inadequate measures to tackle the immediate water scarcity, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said that the government will make an announcement regarding the drought by October 31 after completing the requisite stock-taking of the situation in districts facing the water shortage.
Fadnavis was speaking to the reporters in Jalgaon after attending a naming ceremony at the North Maharashtra University.
"This year, many districts especially those in Marathwada have rainfall deficit.
We will soon activate the Centre’s drought manual norms," he said.
He also informed that the government will soon set up centres for the farmers to sell their farm produce.
The CM’s announcement on the drought has come a week after the Congress and NCP targeted him for neglecting the areas suffering from water shortage.
State Congress president Ashok Chavan yesterday had lambasted that the government for being in the offline mode.
The government is making them wait in queue for days to get their money," Chavan had said while addressing the party’s Jan Akrosh Yatra in Nashik.
WATCH| Netas-made tragedy?
Marathwada farmers blame politicos for Maharashtra’s man-made drought Jump to navigation

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja AN All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, has asked the government to immediately convert unused land to grazing routes as this will curb incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen.
We have to face the reality that modernity is making the nomadic way counterproductive and inefficient.
In the long run, this will enable herders to better maintain their livestock and thus their own livelihood.” Tinubu, who was represented by an Executive Commissioner of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Sunday Dare, said contrary to speculations, the crisis was not caused by religious or political differences but by water scarcity.
Also speaking, a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, noted that the crisis had nothing to do with the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari was a Fulani man.
Ribadu, who is also a chieftain of the APC, said, on the contrary, most nomadic Fulani herders felt marginalised under the Buhari government.
“They think he is listening to the others and that he meets people from Benue, Plateau and never gave them an audience.
He is not taking sides in this struggle, but he cannot change himself because he is a Fulani man or claim that he is no more a Fulani man because it has become an issue.” Ribadu said many of the herders were migrating southwards not only because of desertification but also because of the high rate of insecurity in the North.
“There has been only one attempt to address the problem and that was the nomadic education programme.
Many of those who participated in the nomadic education programme are PhD holders today and those that are working are helping their communities.
Other than that, I have not seen any effort geared towards solving their problem.” In his remarks, the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bodejo, said some of the solutions to the current crisis included the immediate suspension of the anti-grazing law as well as the release of herders arrested in Benue in the course of enforcing the law.

Speaking during a media briefing with the Danish ambassador to Kenya Mette Knudsen in Nairobi, Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana expressed confidence that every household will have access to fresh water by 2020, stating that water budget is the biggest development allocation set aside by his government.
“I am excited that tomorrow they will come to Makueni with the ambassador and we will go to Kalawa so we can see from the citizens… ordinary people themselves the efficacy of the technology,” said Kibwana.
He said he was optimistic that water scarcity in Makueni will be a thing of the past.
“My prayer is to see women access water from their households and not walk for miles and miles in search of water.” Knudsen urged the National Government to cooperate with County Governments to ensure the water problem in the entire country is fully resolved.
“As the Danish Government, we are really committed in providing water solutions especially in areas that receive low rainfall and we are happy to be partnering with the Kenyan Government not only in water services projects but also in other sectors,” she said.
“I would ask the County and National Governments to support each other and collaborate in all the projects meant to benefit the ordinary citizen.” The county will be working with Grundfos Water Utility Company which is the world’s leading pump manufacturer, which will ensure smooth supply of water in the region.
Grundfos CEO Mads Nipper assured to share their knowledge and technology that will see perennial water shortage in Makueni addressed.

"The situation is going from bad to worse and the government must declare drought immediately in North Maharashtra and Marathwada," former chief minister and Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan said addressing a rally at Shahada in Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra.
"We are ready to come onto the streets to fight for this demand," said Chavan, who hails from Nanded in Marathwada region.
Water shortage has forced women and children to walk over five kilometres to fetch water.
Farmlands, too, are dry despite Fadnavi’s flagship Jalyukt Shivar irrigation scheme.
Yet, the state has taken no action on preparing for drought relief, he said.
"Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil only keeps repeating the same promise of commissioning reports, holding cabinet meetings, and asking for assistance from the Central government,” Chavan said.
In a recent TV interview, he revealed that the BJP made grand promises because they never thought they would come to power!” he said.
"But Gadkari can give false promises without worrying in 2019 because the BJP will not come back to power!” he added.
"We passed Maharashtra’s historic 2009 farm loan waiver within 24 hours," said Chavan.
"This government has promised waivers in every speech and press release — but farmers have still not seen any money in their bank accounts!”