By Subir Nandi – Urban Acres
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu: In an ostentatious display at the newly integrated terminal of Tiruchirappalli International Airport, an IndiGo aircraft arriving from Chennai received a traditional water cannon salute on Tuesday.
This ceremony, celebrating the commencement of operations at the terminal inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 2, has drawn the attention of the environmentalists and water warriors, given the city’s dire water crisis a few months back.
A water cannon salute, typically involving the use of up to 5,000 litres of water over two minutes, is a ceremonious tradition in aviation, usually marking significant events like the arrival of a new aircraft or the retirement of a senior pilot. On this occasion, the gesture symbolised the operational start of the new terminal, aimed at enhancing the airport’s capacity and facilities. However the question is how rightful is this celebration with huge wastage of water especially in the face of climate change and drought across the country.
This water-wasting celebration has happened in the same Trichy, which was grappling with a severe water shortage during March-April-May Month. The city was enduring a drought-like situation for the first time in seven years, primarily due to a deficient northeast monsoon and inadequate water inflows into the Cauvery and Kollidam rivers. The city was facing a shortfall of 10 million litres per day (mld) in its drinking water supply in March Month, with depleted groundwater levels causing several borewells to run dry. The Trichy Corporation was compelled to drill six new borewells to mitigate the shortfall, but officials anticipate challenging times in the coming years.
Currently, about 60% of Trichy’s drinking water is sourced from borewells in the Kollidam river, with the remainder coming from the Cauvery. The northeast monsoon, which ended on January 14, failed to deliver adequate rainfall, further depleting the groundwater table and reducing the yield from borewells. Additionally, the radial arm in the Kambarasampettai collector well in the Cauvery river, which supplied 32 mld of drinking water, was filled with sand, halting pumping operations. The decision to host a water cannon salute has thus sparked outrage, with people who view the act as a gross misuse of precious resources amidst a looming water crisis. A video shared by ANI captured the event, showing the aircraft navigating the runway while water cannons sprayed arcs of water in celebration. As Trichy was navigating a severe water crisis few months back, the lavish use of water for ceremonial purposes underscores the stark contrast between ceremonious tradition and the pressing need for resource conservation.
