Though there are about 50,000 permanent residents in the town, the population number almost doubles during weekends and peak season. According to Mr. Saleem, a long-time resident of Kodaikanal and a tour operator, “nowadays the Municipality supplies water once in ten days. For our daily needs, we are forced to buy water. A water tanker which on regular days costs ₹5,000, on weekends the price jumps to even ₹7,000. This stored water lasts for about a week.”
For a long time, the government has failed to maintain the dams, slit has not been removed, and it has led to reduced capacity, he pointed out, and added that even the Municipality has failed to maintain the pipelines that supply water to the town. “There are leakages and issues of sewage getting mixed with water are regular complaints that are being aired,” he added.
On September 7, a civic group, Citizens of Kodaikanal, submitted a petition to Chief Minister Joseph Vijay in which they urged the government to move toward implementing the recommendations emerging from the High Court-directed IIT Madras carrying capacity exercise. This, they point out, will help to manage the water scarcity prevailing in the hills.
Abdul Gani Raja, president of the Kodaikanal Hotels and Resorts Owners’ Association, says that the failure of monsoon has hit the normal life of the people. Water usage has increased exorbitantly. “There are 640 licensed homestays in Kodaikanal, but there are 1000s of unlicensed homestays. For a tourist couple staying in a room here would mean a daily usage of about 500 litres of water. Thus, with tourists coming up there is an increase in demand. With the rains failing, the situation has become alarming. The Municipality is doing its best. It has sunk many bore wells and the supply of water to hotels is continuing. But if nature plays truant then it will surely affect the coming of tourists and hit the economy here,” he adds.
An official from the municipality admitted to the looming water scarcity in the hills. He said that to mitigate the issue, a bore well has been sunk in Gymkhana Ground. “This will help us provide water to residents once every three days,” he says.
EOM
