Chennai, July 10: With the southern metropolitan facing the water crunch due to unprecedented shortages, Chennai-based hospitals are crying for rains. To tackle the permanent crisis, hospitals in the city are relying on the water trucks and bottled water for surgeries. Some even opine that if the condition persists for a month, the treatment of patients won't be possible as water mafia gained momentum.

Considering the case of failed rains in Tamil Nadu over the last couple of years, the severe dry cycle had trapped in Tamil Nadu along with other states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Now with the water crisis gripping the state capital, hospitals have reached to expensive water trucks which are increasing their prices for each passing day. Chennai Water Crisis: Before and After Images Show Drying of City's Lakes, Reaching Day Zero; Names of Cities Next in List

South Asia Drought Monitor had stated it clearly that the water level in Chennai had depleted to several metres, leading to a water scarcity scenario and people are on the receiving end. As a result, Chennai-based hospitals are completely dependent on water tankers, which charge almost Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 for 20,000 litres of water.

With the rising demand, the Chennai Private Tanker Lorry Owners Association had previously claimed that they are mulling hike of Rs 200 per tanker, as the water crisis has allegedly come down by 20 percent. However, the hospitals claim that they are paying around Rs 6,000 for a 12,000-litre water truck in July, which was priced at Rs 1,200 in April.

In the Union Budget 2019, though Finance Minister announced schemes to tackle with the water crisis in the country and proposed reforms in the water harvesting policies, situations are hardly improving in Chennai which was over-flooded in 2015, due to continuous downpour. Now as the water crunch becoming severe and medical surgeries in Chennai becoming dependent on water tankers, the time is not far when the health epidemic in-waiting will hit Southern India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2019 08:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).