THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even Water Resources Minister Mathew T Thomas dare not call it more than ‘an attempt.’ But if it pays off, the parched capital city just might get adequate water to safely cross the summer.
Short of options, the Water Resources Department on Thursday pushed aside doubts and decided to go in for pumping of water from Neyyar to the Aruvikkara dam for supplementing the city’s water supply.
What the department plans to do is pump water from Kappukad to the disused Kariyode canal which lies 1.5 km away. It is expected the pumped water will flow along the canal for nine km before it drains into Aniyilakkadavu, from where access to the Aruvikkara dam is easy.
“I would call this an attempt. I’ve inspected the canal. It is overgrown with weeds and other vegetation. Work on clearing the canal will begin on Friday,’’ said Mathew T Thomas. This forms only one part of a seemingly insurmountable challenge.
For pumping the water, the department is planning to transport a pump-fitted floating dredger belonging to the Irrigation Department all the way from Alappuzha to Kappukad. The dredger is on another assignment in Alappuzha and first it has to be relieved by replacements from Ernakulam. It then has to be dismantled and transported to Neyyar.
The department is also planning to use one more pump to supplement the dredger. All this is expected to take at least a week.
Even when the water gets pumped, it is feared a significant volume will be lost as seepage in the canal. At present, there is 13 mm3 water in the Neyyar reservoir. Of this, only 6 mm3 can be spared for the crisis-mitigation measure. According to the minister, the department has time till May 15 to get its act together for the pumping from Neyyar. The capital city is safe until May 15.
With the imposition of restrictions on pumping from Aruivikkara on Monday - pumping was cut down by 25 per cent daily - the water supply can be stretched up till May 22.
Earlier in the day, the water crisis faced by the capital was discussed in the weekly Cabinet meeting. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan instructed the Water Resources Department to take adequate measures to address the issue.