Chennai, June 21: Kerala’s offer to supply 20 lakh litres of drinking water by train from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai was rejected by Tamil Nadu government on Thursday. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's officer informed that their offer to send 20 lakh litres of drinking water to parched Tamil Nadu was turned down by the neighbouring state. "Since Tamil Nadu is going through serious shortage of water, we were willing to send 20 lakh litres of water on trains. But they have said that at the moment, they do not require it," Vijayan's office said in a statement. Tamil Nadu Water Crisis: Chennai Residents Struggle With Irregular Water Supply Through Tankers, State Govt Seeks Centre's Help.

Tamil Nadu has been reeling with severe water crisis with Chennai city being the worst hit. The reservoirs supplying water to Chennai have dried up, bringing life to a standstill. Locals inform that they are using the water supplied through tankers for drinking and washing as the ground water levels have gone down and hence the shortage.

In Tamil Nadu, the reservoirs - Cholavaram (full capacity 1,081 mcft) and Redhills (3,300 mcft)- which cater to the Chennai's water needs are dry while the storage at Poondi reservoir is 24 mcft as against full capacity of 3,231 mcft, according to Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Chennai Metro). The Chembarambakkam lake (full capacity 3,645 mcft) has water level of mere 1 mcft. Water Crisis Deepens in Tamil Nadu, Soaring Temp Adds to Woes.

On Thursday, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board took up SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, for the last 15 days on all the 556 Combined Water Supply Schemes (CWSS) all over the state, except Chennai, for timely delivery, assured quantity and defined quality of water. The Board said power cuts, pipe damage, pipeline leaks and bursts and overdrawal are the reasons for non-supply of water in some areas in the state.

According to reports, the TWAD Board said arrangement are being made for gensets in locations affected by interruption in power supply, supply of water through tankers to unserved areas, immediate attending to pipeline leaks/bursts and to have standby motors, pump-sets, valves and others items.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2019 09:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).