THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: No water is being distributed in the region besides the bypass road, mainly the coastal belt of Thiruvananthapuram, for the last three weeks, compounding the summer misery of the residents from Poovar, Kanjiramkulam, Athiyannur and Kottukal panchayats.
“The bypass work that crosses the canal at three places stopped the water supply, the supply would be restored in another four-five days,” says Anil Kumar, AE Irrigation Department. The department has made temporary arrangements, he added. The Department contends that opening the canal would mean severe water loss.
“The loose soil texture in the area also leads to water seepage at a higher rate which also works against us,” said Anil.The representatives of the local self government bodies disagree. Karimkulam grama panchayat president Anil Kumar said: “They always have reasons. The bypass construction could be a cause. However, the fact remains that even when the water supply is open, the water barely reaches us. This is the case even in summer.
Mostly, the water gets diverted for agricultural purposes. However, people here even rely on it for drinking purposes.”“Even before this, the state of water supply was not any better. The region totally depends on the canal and the lack of water in it puts them in a draught like situation. Some of our regions don’t have a drop of water and soon we will have to supply water using tankers,” said Sarasi Kuttappan, chairperson, development standing committee, Kanjiramkulam grama panchayat.
The Irrigation Department officials allege that water supply in a few areas in the surrounding panchayats was disrupted because of the slush and dirt in the canal. They say, the lack of proper supervision during the routine canal work had brought the canal to its current state.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department said they have discussed construction work disrupting the water distribution with the contractors and expect to solve the issue as soon as possible.