Chennai:
If you are in Chennai chances are soon you may be drinking desalinated sea water. The city has got the largest desalination plant in the country which supplies drinking water at an incredibly cheap price.
Touted to be south Asia's largest sea water desalination plant, it will supply hundred million litres of drinking water every day to Chennaiites. A private company has spent Rs 600 crore for the project and the purified water will cost less than five paise per litre.
This idea came up in the year 2003 when Chennai faced its worst ever drinking water scarcity. With two more such plants in the pipeline, officials say the city may never face that kind of a crisis.
"Even if reservoirs go dry, we will now be able to maintain a steady supply of drinking water," said Shiv Das Meena, MD, Chennai Metro Water.
Although conceived by Jayalalithaa, the ruling DMK is clearly capitalising on this for electoral gain.
Chennai requires six hundred million litres of drinking water every day. With the city's population nearing ten million, the government can't be complacent but will have to expedite the pipeline project from Cauvery to quench Chennai's thirst.