THERE is a scramble for water every day, as taps go dry, except for just half-an-hour each during mornings and evenings. The residents of Rajiv Nagar Government Quarters, Melarannoor, who have been going through this ordeal for many years, have now got slapped with another shock - after water tariff revision, their new minimum water charge is five times higher than the present charge.
In protest against this, the residents, under the banner of Rajiv Nagar Residents’ Association, will take out a march to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) Assistant Engineer’s office at Karamana on Monday and stage a dharna in front of it.
“Our demand is to install water-meters to calculate the water bill. We are ready to pay for the quantity of water we get. It is gross injustice that even though we get water only for a very short duration, the minimum water charge is Rs 116 now, which was Rs 22 earlier,” said Residents’ Association president Sivadas P.
The families of 590 government employees in 44 flats here have been facing water shortage mainly because the area is a high-lying one. “Till now, neither the Water Resources Department nor the PWD has been able to set up a proper water distribution network for this area,” Sivadas said.
It was in 1985 that 56 quarters were allotted under Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme. The sanction was given after the service organisations agreed in writing that they were ready to live there with the existing water distribution and drainage system. Once they started living there, the residents had to depend on temporary water distribution and drainage arrangement of the Central Jail. There were just two roads, one through the Central Jail and the other starting from Melarannoor railway cross. The complex was named Rajiv Nagar when it was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran on July 1, 1993.
After repeated requests and memorandums given by the Residents’ Association and efforts of the MLA, the late B. Vijayakumar, Rajiv Nagar got new roads, overhead tank, pump house, sump, street lights and bus services.
When the water tariff was first introduced, the amount was Rs 34. In 1995, the Association approached the Consumer Court demanding a reduction. In 1996, the minimum charge was brought down to Rs 19. When the minimum charge was again revised, it became Rs 22 (Rs 20 as minimum charge and Rs 2 as the meter-charge).
“We get water for hardly half-an-hour in the morning and evening. And in the case of multi-storeyed apartments, the families get water for just 10 minutes. By the time the water from the sump reaches these flats, the supply stops. So, those who get water for half-an-hour and those who get it for 10 minutes are now paying the same tariff,” Sivadas said.
Interestingly, before the revision of the water tariff, another residents’ association in Rajiv Nagar had distributed a datasheet, with Melarannoor Government Quarters written on it, among the residents. It had the seal of the KWA AE. The residents had to fill up details such as address, the year in which the quarters was allotted, KWA consumer number, among others.
“This was raised by P.C. Vishnunath, MLA in an Assembly session (on June 27, 2008). The Water Resources Minister replied that the datasheet was indeed distributed among the residents as part of regularising the water bills. The Minister said that it was distributed following a decision taken by a committee in Rajiv Nagar. We are not aware of such a committee meeting,” said Sivadas. However, the KWA expressed regret over having used the name ‘Melarannoor Government Quarters’ on the datasheet. “The Minister also said the datasheet was not an official document. So, how can the tariff be revised on the basis of that,” he said.
The march will be taken out from Rajiv Square here at 10 a.m. on Monday to the KWA section office at Kunjalummoodu. DCC president V.S. Sivakumar will inaugurate the dharna.