PALLURUTHY: After the much-publicised HUDCO water supply extension project failed to bring water to Palluruthy, the residents here pin their hopes of getting access to a steady supply of water on the lingering JNNURM project.
But there is little clarity on the amount of potable water that will flow to Palluruthy when the project will be commissioned, says ward 21 councillor K N Sunilkumar.
The JNNURM water supply scheme from Piravom promises 100 MLD of water per day to West Kochi. Palluruthy was one among the beneficiaries of the first approved JNNURM scheme. But in the second schemes, there is no clarity on whether the region is included or not, he said.
A large quantity of the water supplied through the scheme would go to the Naval Base and the Cochin Port Trust and even if Palluruthy is included in the new scheme, how much water will it get is unclear, he said.
The outcome of a water-sharing meeting held recently between Minister K Babu, Mayor Tony Chammany, councillors and other representatives of the regions is inconclusive.
However, the Mayor insisted that Palluruthy would get water through the JNNURM scheme. But the residents here are apprehensive of the JNNURM scheme sharing the same fate of the HUDCO project.
After the HUDCO project was inaugurated, Edakochi and Palluruthy got water for two weeks days. But when shortage was reported from the city, the water was diverted to Kochi. “We used to get around 10 MLD of water during those two weeks and it was more than enough to meet the public requirement here. However, after the shortage in Kochi, the supply decreased and the water to the tail end of the supply pipelines stopped,” said Sunila Selvan, ward 19 (Kacherippady) councillor.