The water supply to some areas will be disrupted for a couple of days due to the pipe burst near Kathrikadavu market on old Kathrikadavu-Kaloor road on Friday. Water supply to central Kaloor, Pottakkuzhy, Edappally road, Cheranalloore, Vaduthala, Pachalam and SRM Road will be affected. Though the Water Authority officials said the problem would be resolved by Saturday afternoon, it may be delayed if inclement weather continues.
KWA Executive Engineer Varghese M Samuel said that water supply to 10 percent of the city would be affected and it would be rectified by Saturday afternoon.
“The pipes are very old and about 10-15 mld of water is pumped through them. Replacement of the pipeline is the only permanent solution. In April there was a similar pipe burst in the region,” he said.
The incident occurred around 8 am on Friday and repair work commenced around 9.30 am. KWA officials said that high water pressure may have lead to the burst of the 40-year-old 700-mm primo pipe from Thammanam pump house to the city. Residents in the area point out that pipe bursts are frequent on the stretch as the pipes are unable to withstand the high water pressure.
V S Muralidharan, KWA contractor, who is carrying out the repair work on the site said that if the weather is favourable the pipe could be replaced by Saturday morning and water supply, resumed by afternoon.
“About 14 workers are trying to fix it up. We are equipped to meet adverse climatic conditions and will not stop the work. The initial work was completed by the afternoon. If all goes well, the pipe will be replaced by 7 am on Saturday and water supply can be resumed by 2 pm,” he said.
Soon after the pipe burst, the traffic through the road was curbed and repair work started in two hours’s time.
K V Mohanan, Assistant Executive Engineer, KWA, Kaloor, said that the pipe with a life of 25 years has been in use for almost 40 years.
“Last month a proposal worth over `4 crore to replace and realign the pipes in the region was submitted to the government. Our plan is to lay the pipe through the Kaloor-Kadavanthara road stretch. This is the only way out,” he said.