Tamil Nadu to ensure 5 litres of drinking water per day for govt school students

Most government schools in northern districts, including in Chennai, which is reeling under severe summer heat, were suffering from drinking water crisis since it reopened on June 3.

A senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next that southern districts received moderate rains in the last one week due to southwest monsoon. Hence, government schools in those areas did not face drinking water crisis. “But, dry weather prevailed over northern coastal areas such as Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Chennai and its neigbouring districts such as Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram,” the official added.

Stating that more than 3,000 schools in the northern districts have been suffering from water crisis, the official said that in view of the situation, the government has formed a committee, led by the respective district education officer, comprising municipal officials and members of parents-teachers association, to solve the crisis.

According to the official, water would be supplied through lorries regularly to affected schools, which would ensure that water would be available for a week. “The five litres of water to be given for each student include one litre for drinking and four litres for toilet usage,” he said.

He said management of the schools were instructed that request for water should be lodged after ensuring adequate water for at least couple of days.

“A separate telephone line has been setup for the school managements in each district to contact the committee members for water request,” he said, adding parents were also requested through school management that they should instruct their kids reduce the usage of water to a minimum during lunch hours. The official said that the government would send funds to the district education officer for giving priority to solve the water crisis in the schools.