CHENNAI: Appalled by the water scarcity afflicting his neighbourhood, a Triplicane businessman has put up a board outside his shop saying customers can avail a bucket of water free for every kilogram of idli-dosa batter they buy.

C N Parthasarathy, who runs a shop selling batter on B V Naicker Street, said there was no business motive in the venture and that he would be spending from his profits to get water from a private tanker.

A resident of Triplicane for 41 years, Parthasarathy said residents of the area had never ever experienced such scarcity. “It was my father’s suggestion that we do something as we have been running a business here for over two decades now. We will only have to forego a little from our profit and that too only until the scarcity ends,” he said.

Parthasarathy said he had first intended to hire a private tanker, but customers suggested that it could lead to a commotion after which he resorted to the current idea.

Every day, on an average, more than 100 customers buy batter at his hole-in-thewall shop. “Of them, only 10-15 customers would avail of the water. I just want to do it as a service,” he said. The only requirement for customers is to bring their own buckets and to boil the water before using it, he said. “These days, you have to be careful even if you intended to do service.”

On Saturday afternoon, a customer who had come to buy batter but had come unprepared went home and came back with a bucket for water. “I saw the board outside the shop and informed my wife about it. Here I am,” he said.

While the government is trying its best to provide water, members of the public should come up with their own measures to help mitigate the crisis, Parthasarathy said.

A Raja, who works in the shop, said borewells had gone dry across Triplicane and that several longtime residents had in the past one year has shifted to other parts of the city where groundwater is available.

