KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) set up its first rain harvesting system on Friday at Companypady Metro Station. Through this system, the metro agency will be able to save 76 lakh litres of water from the KWA network, catering to the requirement of nearly 600 families per annum. The groundwater recharge will also help in increasing water availability during offseason for a large number of people.
The project was inaugurated by Kerala High Court Judge Justice Devan Ramachandran. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the efforts of Kochi Metro for executing a rainwater harvesting project. “Floods that happened in Kerala in 2018 and 2019 were an eye-opener for all of us. Water conservation and protection of natural resources are of utmost importance in our lives. There are a lot of people who have no access to freshwater. The amount of water KMRL can save through this initiative will help the public in large ways,” said Justice Devan Ramachandran.
Kochi Metro MD Alkesh Kumar Sharma announced that KMRL will be implementing the rainwater harvesting programme at all its stations. “The total water consumption in all the 22 metro stations adds up to approximately 420 lakh litres per annum. A large chunk of water requirements of KMRL is currently met by continuous supply from the Kerala Water Authority from its public water distribution network, which puts the availability of water to the public under stress. So we decided to implement the project,” said Sharma.
KMRL implemented the project with the technical support from SCMS Water Institute. Pramod Thevannur, vice chairman of SCMS Group of Institutions, also attended the event that was organised in compliance with Covid protocols.