KOCHI: With the drinking water crisis aggravating each day in West Kochi and neighbouring panchayats, the district administration has taken stringent measures to address the grievances of the public.
In order to deal with the crisis, District Collector Renu Raj issued an order to take over tanker lorries under Section 65 of the District Disaster Management Act. The collector’s action comes in the wake of a lack of small tankers, which is creating difficulty in supplying water to the interior parts of West Kochi.
As per the decision, Muvattupuzha Regional Transport Officer has been tasked with procuring more tankers to supply drinking water to the areas where acute shortage exists.
The police will provide the necessary assistance to impound the tankers. The seized tankers will be handed over to the Kerala Water Authority. The acquired vehicles will be taken to the pumping station at Maradu. Police assistance will also be provided for this. The drivers should be present with their tanker lorries for supplying water as required by the water authority.
Meanwhile, a control room will be set up under the leadership of the Fort Kochi sub-collector to make the water supply more efficient in West Kochi. The control room will have tanker owners association representatives, police, revenue, water authority and RTO officials. The control room will coordinate the distribution of water from the treatment plant in Aluva to the inner parts of West Kochi in large tankers.