Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday said his government would write to the Kerala government requesting it to supply two million litre of drinking water to Chennai daily.

The chief minister revealed the decision to write to the Kerala government in the middle of a controversy triggered by reports that the TN government was refusing to accept the neighbouring state’s one-time offer of two million litre of water.

“We have decided to get water from Kerala. They have assured only for a day. I thank Kerala chief minister for the gesture. Still, the supply of two million litre is not enough because we supply 525 million litre daily for Chennai’s water requirements,” Palaniswami told reporters.

The chief minister said it would be good for the people of Chennai if the Kerala government offered two million litre daily.

The chief minister said his government had decided to transport ten million litre of drinking water daily from Jolarpet in Vellore district to Chennai.

“We have discussed water supply of ten million litre per day from Jolarpet to Chennai for about six months in rail wagons. It has been estimated to cost at Rs 65 crore,” Palaniswami said.

He said that due to failure of monsoon, the state government was largely dependent on ground water, as the northeast monsoon is months away.

“People should use water judiciously,” he said. The state has already filled up the Veeranam lake by releasing the Cauvery water from Mettur reservoir to meet Chennai’s needs.

