Average water levels in its biggest reservoirs are down to 19% of their normal storage, from the usual 35% in summer. Still, there is only just enough water left to sustain the city until the onset of the monsoon in early June, says Kerala water authority superintending engineer Leena Kumari. “This is a real crisis,” said one of its anchors, seeing a reporter standing on a patch of dry land which was once part of the Sasthamkotta lake, the biggest fresh water lake in Kerala used for drinking water by 700,000 people. The state government is trying its best to avert a crisis, said water minister Mathew T. Thomas. Also, the government has capped water supply to industries and barred the digging of new borewells, he said.

Source: Mint May 15, 2017 18:00 UTC