KOCHI: The acute water shortage due to inadequate supply last week badly affected the employees and hit the productivity of several companies at Infopark here. Though the district administration and Infopark officials took steps to restore the water supply and Kinfra restarted the pumping of water from the Kadambrayar from Monday, the techies working in various companies at Infopark feel a lot needs to be done for permanently solving the problem.
“The recurrence of such issues will affect the appeal of Infopark and make companies reluctant to set up offices here,” said one of the employees of a software company at Infopark. The techies have come up with various suggestions to resolve a similar crisis in future.“Ensuring the recycling of water can help in maintaining adequate supply on the campus,” said the employee.
“The recycled water can be used in wash areas and restrooms. Treated water from sewage treatment plants can be used for various purposes ,” he said. Reducing water consumption is also another suggestion.
“Use of water in restrooms and other areas should be regulated. Water audit should be done regularly. The quantity of water used and recycled should be recorded and the difference should be noted. The report should be submitted to the district administration,” said an employee. “This will give the authorities an idea of the monthly water usage on the campus. Also, if water supply from the Kadambrayar halts, its supply in tanker lorries can be arranged accordingly,” said the employee.
Techies come up with various suggestions, including recycling of water and rainwater harvesting, to prevent similar water shortage in future | Say recurrence of the problem would affect the appeal of the campus
Rainwater harvesting
Progressive Techies, a non-profit organisation working at Infopark, is planning to meet government officials regarding the mandatory implementation of rainwater harvesting systems in all buildings on the campus. “It is a feasible solution. The supply via tanker lorries was restored last week after the vehicles were given an exemption on where to draw water from. We support the law that water shouldn’t be drawn from sources other than Kerala Water Authority hydrants. We are planning to start a campaign to make rainwater harvesting mandatory on the campus,” said a member of the organisation.
Pumping station
The techies said a secondary pumping station was an urgent need. “Since Kinfra pumps water from the Kadambrayar, setting up a pumping station on the river will address the water woes of the campus. The treated water can be supplied to the campus. This will bring consistency in supply,” said another employee of a company in Infopark.
A single point of communication
Many employees complained about the lack of proper communication from officials in charge of various buildings on the campus. Water supply to Carnival Infopark was halted till 3.30pm on January 17 which severely affected the productivity of many companies.
“From 8.30am on the day, we were after the authorities for water. However, an entire day passed without a proper response from authorities. The only people who responded to our queries were those who are in charge of maintenance. Such crises require clear communication, which didn’t happen in this instance,” said a woman employee working in one of the firms in the Carnival Infopark building. “Providing clear information on such a crucial day will help employees as they are the ones who get affected. We had to go to other buildings to use washrooms. Women were affected the worst,” she said.