KOCHI: It will take another two weeks for the residents of Kochi to get relief from the drinking water scarcity they have been facing since January 26, 2023. The reason for this is the failure of both motor pumps at the Pazhoor pump house.
Residents of West Kochi, Thrikkakara municipality, Maradu, Kumbalam, Chellanam, and Kumbalanghi panchayats had been battling for drinking water for almost a month.
“Earlier, there was no supply of water tankers in our locality and nearby areas despite requests made to the water authority and local body,” said Ragini Shibu, a resident of Mundamveli. “After a gap of two days, a tanker lorry came to our area on Wednesday morning. The quality of this water is questionable and many people suffered health issues. We can afford to buy packaged water for drinking purpose.But some families have no choice and have to depend on tanker water for cooking and drinking purposes,” she added.
Meanwhile, the KWA official said that the motor pumps will be repaired soon. “One of the two pumps at the Pazhoor pump house will be repaired by Sunday, and by March 8 the second one too will be repaired,” said an official with KWA. The fabrication work on the bush of the motor pumps is ongoing. The repair work of the shaft is progressing at Mulanthuruthy and of the bush at Puthanvelikara,” said the official.
As per the orders from Water Resource Minister Roshy Augustine, the water authority is bound to supply drinking water in the required areas and bear the expense. “The district collector is assigned to coordinate between various local-self governments in arranging sufficient tanker lorry for hassle-free water distribution,” a KWA official added.
More tanker lorries will be arranged to supply drinking water,sources said. KWA distributed 6,56,500 litres of drinking water on Wednesday alone. On Monday, around 2,36,000 litres and, on Tuesday, 2,41,000 litres of water were distributed in various areas.