Tankers loot aquifers, buy water at 2 paise a litre

CHENNAI: The demands of IT companies, housing complexes, hotels and educational institutions on Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road) has led to a loot of groundwater and illegal borewells sunk into farmlands in Illalore village in Kancheepuram district tap tanker-loads of water 24x7 are aiding it.
A visit to the village on Thursday found at least 15 borewells fitted with pipes used to fill 24,000 litres and 30,000-litre capacity tankers.While land owners charge between Rs 400 and Rs 600 to refill the tankers, roughly around 2 paise/litre, the tankers owners sell the water to buyers on OMR for Rs 3,000 and upwards, or Rs 8/litre-Rs 10/litre.
Selvadurai, a tanker driver, says he makes at least eight trips a day and adds that his employer, Sampath, owns two other tankers transporting water.
They cater to a leading chain of hotels in Mahabalipuram. On the rates for the tanker loads of water, Selvadurai says the price is based on the distance covered. “We are ready to supply water to any part of the city, but the price will vary,” he said.
One of the residents, on condition of anonymity, said illegal borewells function only from Illalore and Kattur villages. A couple of years ago there were more than 20 such illegal borewells but a few were shut in the past six months, he said.
P Rajendran, a farmer in Illalore, said the quality of water in the villages was good, citing it as the reason behind the lucrative trade. Of the 15 borewells in Illalore, two allegedly belong to a police officer working in Chennai, while another is owned by a constable working in a nearby station.
When contacted, Kancheepuram collector P Ponniah said they had received complaints about the commercial exploitation of groundwater. “The administration will not be able to stop an individual from sinking a borewell on land with patta. No clear directions are available, but action to bring down commercial exploitation of groundwater will be taken soon,” he said.