THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the past one month, the families of a residential flat near Althara Temple have been spending a hefty sum of around Rs 4,500 every day to purchase two tankers of water to meet their daily needs. Just like them, thousands of families residing on either side of the Vellayambalam-Thycaud stretch have been facing acute water crisis ever since the project was launched to transform the stretch into smart road by the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL).
There are many elderly citizens and children in the apartment complex and they have been facing water supply disruption for the past one month, said T K Gopalakrishnan Nair, a resident at the apartment.
“The water crisis became severe in the past one month and every day we are buying two tankers of water to fill our tanks. Recently, the supply was totally cut off and we had to take it up with the authorities. They restored the supply only on Thiruvonam day. Though there is low pressure while pumping we are getting water now,” said Gopalakrishnan Nair.
As part of the smart road work, new utility lines for water supply were laid and even after several weeks, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is struggling to charge these new lines and restore the water supply to the residents in the stretch. Multiple protests have been held by the affected people, but the KWA has failed to meet deadlines.
Sumesh Krishnan, coordinator of residents associations in the stretch, said that the KWA has lack of clarity regarding the existing drinking water supply networks. The officials are grappling in the dark as they are clueless about the water supply networks. “They have closed the one-way road at Vazhuthacaud Junction and are unable to locate the old pipelines. At least, they could restore the road for vehicular movement. The dug-up road remains a major inconvenience,” he said.
According to KWA officials, they have sought the permission of the higher authorities to undertake a major work to restore of the water supply. “As per the current direction, we have to inform the higher authorities about the work at least a week before.
The preparatory works are over to connect the main pipeline from PTP with the existing network. A 10-hour long main work is remaining and we have sought the permission. Hopefully, we will be able to finish the work by next week,” said the official.
After charging the new lines, many high-lying residential areas are facing water supply disruption. To resolve the crisis, the KWA has installed two smart charging stations. “Each smart charging station cost around `5 lakh and it is an automatic facility. We will be able to set the timers to ensure the supply of water in high-lying areas,” said the official.
Besides the main work, two works are remaining near All India Radio (AIR) and Ganapati Temple at Vazhuthacaud junction. “We will be able to complete the work at AIR very soon and other work requires road cutting clearance from the Kerala Road Fund Board,” the official added.