KOCHI: The district administration will seize the tanker lorries which charge exorbitant rates to provide drinking water supply.
District Collector K Mohammed Y Safeerullah told reporters here the administration had come to know some of the tanker lorry owners were milking the public reeling under the water scarcity.
Usually,the consumers are charged for the distance the water is ferried from the point of origin to the destination.
“We have received complaints from the public that some tanker lorry owners are charging `4,000 to supply water within a 10km-radius. This is against the government guidelines. Various areas of the district are facing acute drinking water shortage. Some tanker lorry owners are trying to make a quick buck,” said Safeerullah. According to him, the district administration assisted by the police would take stringent action against the offenders and the vehicles would be seized.
Check dam
In order to address the potable water shortage in the Tripunithura and Kunnathunadu Assembly constituencies, the administration has decided to speed up the procedures to construct a check dam at Choondi.
Raising the issue at the District Development Committee meeting on Saturday, MLAs V P Sajeendran and M Swaraj said there was an ongoing dispute among some of the departments on the issue. Following this, Safeerullah said the disputes, if any, would be resolved at the earliest and the check dam construction started. “If a consensus eludes the departments, the issue will be taken up at the Cabinet-level,” said Swaraj.
Anoop Jacob, MLA, said the check dam at Velleri in Thirumarady was in poor shape. He called for stringent action to prevent the dumping of waste in the Piravom river.
Roji John, MLA,urged the Kerala Water Authority(KWA) authorities to finish the pipe relaying work undertaken as part of the Parakkadavu drinking water project. “The old pipes in the pumping line are in a wornout condition and must be replaced immediately,” he added.
Regarding the clean-up of the Andhakarathodu canal,the estimate for the work had already been prepared, the officer concerned informed the collector.