Tamil Nadu faces severe water crisis as over 4,000 tanks dry up

Tamil Nadu is facing a severe water crisis, with 4,208 of its 14,141 water tanks completely dry, according to Water Resources Department officials. The failure of the southwest monsoon and record summer heat have depleted water resources across the state. Another 5,814 tanks have only 1% to 25% of their storage, leaving the overall storage condition of over 10,000 tanks extremely poor.

The delta districts, considered the rice bowl of the state, are particularly affected. Around 95% of the 764 tanks in these districts hold nearly no water, as the Mettur Dam was not opened on the scheduled date of June 12 due to a delay in the release of Cauvery water by Karnataka. Thanjavur district has the highest number of completely dry tanks in the region at 537, followed by Pudukkottai with 170 and Tiruvarur with 28. There are also 27 non-system tanks in the area.

Madurai district has recorded the highest number of dry tanks in the entire state: 1,123 of its 1,340 tanks are completely dried up.