As Tamil Nadu faces its worst-ever drought, several dead fish were seen lying on the peripheries of the dried up Selva Chinthamani Lake in Coimbatore.

The Selva Chinthamani Lake has dried up due to the prolonged heatwave in the state and lack of rainfall, reported ANI.

Coimbatore: Fish found dead in Selva Chinthamani lake. The lake has gone dry due to heatwave conditions in the region. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/maJXxLTRbI ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2019

Tamil Nadu is reeling under an acute water crisis for the past several months after Chennai's Porur Lake, which is considered one of the main sources of water, reached its lowest level. Four major lakes of Chembarambakkam, Poondi, Red Hills and Cholavaram that supply water to the city are almost dry.

The major water bodies have dried up due to rainfall deficit in the past two years. This has also led to depletion of ground water levels.

In one of the worst summers, taps have gone dry in most parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai city, affecting citizens and corporates alike.

While people queuing up with plastic pots in the city has become a common sight, IT companies are going in for various measures, including asking employees to work from home to stave off the problem.

According to the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Chennai Metro), the reservoirs -- Cholavaram (full capacity 1,081 mcft) and Redhills (3,300 mcft) -- which cater to Chennai's water needs are dry while the storage at Poondi reservoir is 24 mcft as against the full capacity of 3,231 mcft.

The recent report in NITI Aayog stated that three rivers, four water bodies, five wetlands and six forests have completely dried up in Chennai despite having better water resources and rainfall than any other metro cities.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said drought and deficient monsoon had resulted in depletion of groundwater levels, but claimed the issue was not as big as was being made out, especially in the media.

Palaniswami said though lakes feeding Chennai have dried up, steps were being taken to ensure supply of drinking water, with efforts to augment it from Veeranam lake in Cuddalore district.

(With inputs from Agencies)