KOCHI: The regions near the tail ends of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) pipelines in Kochi have always been suffering from drinking water shortage. And the collapse of a 1.3-crore litre water tank in Thammanam last week has added to their woes.
The tank was being used to store water to be pumped to all parts of Kochi corporation and its peripheries and its collapse led to severe water shortage across the city for two days. Though a huge part of the issue has been resolved, houses at the far end of the KWA network are still waiting for a sufficient supply of water. In the Poonithura region, many lanes located at an elevation have been hit hard by the current crisis.
In places like Mukkottil Temple Road, Subramanya Nagar, Jawahar Road, and Ayyankali Road, people complain that they do not get water at all.
“These regions have been facing water shortage for a long time and we are bringing in projects to resolve the issue. But right now, the houses along these roads receive very little or no water for days. The entire division 50 is surviving on tanker lorries, but the supply is proving insufficient to cover all the houses. The shortage has become severe in all areas beyond Gandhi Square,” said Councillor Shailaja T K.
Similar is the situation in Ponnurunni. The bylanes adjoining Sahakarana Road, Junior Janatha Road, and LPS Road face the difficulty of tanker accessibility even when such alternatives are arranged.
“It is difficult to reach many houses here through tankers. We ask them to come to the bigger roads to take water home, but that is a difficult task for the residents,” said Councillor C D Bindu.
In Cheranalloor panchayat, ward no 6 and 12 face issues due to a lack of pressure in pumping. Regions like the northern side of Idayakunnam Temple, Navajyothi, and Kolerickal are mainly affected. “On this stretch, there are houses that lack tanks to store the water supplied. All these add up to the water shortage in the region,” said ward member Rini Shobi.
At the same time, other tail-end regions like Vaduthala and Pachalam, which usually face water shortage during such crisis, have not been affected by the latest development.
“We have been able to manage the issue with some rearrangement. Instead of pumping twice for seven hours, we now carry out pumping three times for the same duration. We also have listed out the regions that need to be provided with water tankers on demand,” said a KWA official.