Use of dam water for Chennai Express angers villagers

10 Apr 2013

Since the water problem in Maharashtra is becoming so sensitive that anyone 'spending' water is bound to come under the radar. Just a few days back, we had reported as to how the veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar had become the victim of his neighbors' ire because he had reported about water wastage.

The latest in the spotlight w.r.t. water usage is none other than SRK's film Chennai Express. News has it that the irrigation department of the state has asked for a report from the concerned officials about the water usage (that was used during the film's shoot) from the Dhom dam in Satara. The local villagers argued that not just was the water extracted from the dam, but also a garden was set up for shooting and its maintenance has been straining the valuable resource.

Talking about the issue, Pradip Patil (Executive Engineer- Dhom Dam) said that team of irrigation officials are looking into the issue and a report will be submitted to higher authorities in the irrigation department shortly. He added that the report will contain all the details that will serve as an answer to those who raised questions about the supply and use of water. He also added that permission was granted by the irrigation department to the production team for their film's shooting and for that, the company had also paid the advance money. Echoing his words was Krishanu Sarvabhaum (Line Producer- Red Chillies Entertainment), who said that not just the water used at the sets were purchased and the workers were provided mineral water, but also all the required permissions were taken from the irrigation department for shooting at the Dhom dam.