It seems like the hundreds of families at Chendamangalam panchayat will have to wait longer to quench their thirst. If it was the local body that was earlier playing spoil sport in tapping the potential of the Parakkulam quarry at Kottayil Kovilakam, it is now the state government which allegedly is opposing the project.
According to N A Ali, Paravur area committee secretary of CPM, the government is allegedly exerting pressure on the district administration to avoid releasing fund. “This is because the project was put forth by the Communist party and not the ruling Congress. We have come to know that the panchayat president has written to the District Collector saying that though the panchayat needs `5 lakh to clean the quarry. However, the council has not arrived at a decision regarding this,” he alleged. He said the project will definitely suffer if the authorities do not do anything immediately as monsoon is round the corner.
Earlier, District Collector PI Sheik Pareeth had said that he was ready to release the funds if the local body or the Kerala Water Authority take up the responsibility of the project. If tapped, the quarry could supply about two crore litres of water.
However, the Chendamangalam panchayat authorities are not even ready to prepare an estimate for the project. Irked by the apathetic attitude of the local body, the locals pumped water from the quarry. It took 46 hours and Rs 32,000 for the venture.
The environmentalists, who earlier visited the site, said there was a high chance of detecting spring in the quarry. “The presence of bamboos around the quarry is an indication that it will have springs beneath. On the contrary, if no springs could be identified, it could be used to store rain water also,” they said.
S Sarma MLA, who was present when the memorandum was given to the District Collector, said that any project would be good if it could provide water to many. “From what I heard, Parakkulam would definitely come in the list,” he said.
However, V D Satheesan MLA refuted the allegations and said the DYFI was unnecessarily creating a furore.
“A project can be undertaken based on the priority and will also take its own time. This project is no different. The DYFI has released a notice stating that the fund was released due to intervention of S Sarma MLA,” he said.
A nod could be given only after conducting the feasibility study, he added.