Infrastructure Problems

So, no major family events this week - no trips, weddings, or presentations (although Ashwin did have exams, and did very well). So, a word about the headaches of day to day life in India. (sorry, no photos here) This week has been rife with problems in day to day services, although most weeks are. The major telecommunications server was down for a few days, so no Internet service. Additionally, almost every day sees a power cut of a few hours - there is a perennial shortage of power here which has worsened in the past couple of months. We are typically without power for a few hours mid-morning every day. We consider ourselves lucky, however, as many homes have cuts a couple of times a day, often at very inconvenient times such as early in the morning and at dinner time. Also, it's much more of a problem for small businesses, folks who work from home, etc. Even some large businesses are affected - this week we read in the paper that one of the largest malls in Chennai has been without power from 10a-10p almost daily. They have a limited backup generator, but that only keeps some lights on - no AC, so as you can imagine, business is down tremendously! The final insult here was that on Wednesday, our tap water went dry. An explanation is in order here - we actually have FOUR types of water available at our apartment. 1 - bottled water for drinking, which is delivered every other day in 20l. bottles, at 70rs/bottle 2- tap water, which comes from the Corporation of Chennai. This is good for washing, bathing, etc, but should not be ingested unless boiled or filtered first, which leads to... 3 - filtered tap water. We have wall mounted filter which we use to filter some of the tap water (#2) for use in cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, rinsing dishes, etc. You could actually drink this water safely, but it has a rather brackish taste, due to the high saline content of the water, so for drinking, go to #1. (also, since the filter is electric powered, if the power is off, you cant use it...) 4-ground water - basically, an emergency backup tank under the apartment with ground/rain water. Can be used in urgent situations for washing/cleaning, but not clean, and only limited amounts available. So, what went this week was #2 (and also #3, since it's filtered #2). And why, you may ask, was there no water from the City? Well - it's a bit complicated, but basically boils down to the fact that instead of distributing the water equally, the city lets some people put their water access point lower on the pipe than other people. So, if you've got clout, or paid a big enough bribe, you get very good water pressure... if not, then your water may be just a trickle. Additionally, since the area that we live in is becoming much more developed, with individual homes being quickly replaced by multi unit buildings, there is a much greater demand for water. So, apparently this week someone upstream from us turned a big faucet on - and ours went off. Now the building is buying water and keeping it in a big tank, until the appropriate official can be bought off, and a new pipe laid. Talk about wasted resources!