KOCHI: With the main water pipeline from the Kerala Water Authority’s Thammanam pump house bursting on Wednesday, potable water supply to the southern parts of the city will be disrupted for two days.
According to KWA officials, water supply to areas such as Kadavanthra, Panampilly Nagar, Vyttila, Petta and Tripunithura will be disrupted with the pipe burst near Thammanam at 5.30 am on Wednesday. The KWA pumps nearly 18 MLD of water through this pipe. “The coupler of 50-cm-diameter asbestos cement pipe burst on Wednesday morning. Since it is very close to the pumping house, we stopped the pumping to avoid more damage. We have already ordered for a new coupler joint and a stainless steel clamp to restore the burst pipe,” said Mohammed Shafi, Executive Engineer, KWA.
According to the official, the replacement with the new coupler would take a minimum of 24 hours. “The coupler has to be manufactured based on its diameter. We hope it will be ready by Thursday morning and we can fix it by evening,” said Suma, Assistant Executive Engineer, KWA.
Meanwhile, the rare bursting of such a major pipeline has badly affected half of the Kochi population. “Even otherwise, we are getting water supply only on alternate days. With the KWA stopping the pumping, several people were affected as most of them do not store sufficient water. They didn’t inform any of us,” said P D Martin, corporation councillor who lives at Girinagar.