KOCHI: A group of miscreants climbing the Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) tank at Kundannoor caused a major disruption to the water supply in Maradu municipality, leaving residents without water for nearly 24 hours. The KWA suspended water pumping from the tank, which has a storage capacity of 15 lakh litres, starting Sunday night.
KWA typically supplies 16 million litres of water per day (MLD) to more than 19,500 households and numerous public and commercial outlets in Maradu. The disruption affected over 58,000 residents in the municipality.
The incident unfolded around 9.30 pm on Sunday when local residents noticed several individuals on top of the water tank. Fearing that the miscreants might have contaminated the water supply, possibly by introducing harmful substances, KWA officials immediately stopped the water flow. The tank was emptied, cleaned, and disinfected by Monday afternoon and by night, the water supply was restored.
KWA officials said that while the tank’s top is covered, it is accessible through a single manhole that can be locked. However, the surrounding area is poorly secured, with dense bushes and no CCTV surveillance or security personnel. The spiral staircase leading to the top of the tank is accessible to anyone, and the boundary walls have been in a dilapidated condition for years. Though local residents alerted the police about the unidentified individuals atop the tank, by the time the officers reached, the miscreants had fled the scene.
“We have urged KWA to take immediate action to secure the area around the tank, including installing locks on the stairway and manhole, improving lighting, and clearing the overgrown vegetation,” Antony Ashanparambil, chairman of Maradu municipality, told TNIE. “These encroachments pose serious health risks. It’s only a matter of time before someone might intentionally contaminate the drinking water.”
Preetha P V, assistant executive engineer at KWA’s water supply division in Tripunithura, confirmed that water samples were collected and sent for analysis to a lab in Aluva. “Earlier this year, we filed a complaint with the Maradu police regarding similar incidents in the area,” she said.
In addition, KWA has requested the municipality to take swift action against street vendors near the tank, who are believed to be contributing to the ongoing security concerns in the area. The authorities are continuing to investigate the incident and are working on securing the site to prevent future breaches.