Drinking water scarcity is acute in some wards of the Maradu municipality and in coastal panchayats like Njarakkal, Edavanakkad, and Pallippuram prompting residents and panchayat representatives to make urgent appeals for sufficient supply of water.
Maradu municipal chairman Antony Asanparambil said that despite an assurance from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), there was not enough supply in some areas like Nettoor, north end of Maradu, and Valanthakkad. He said municipal councillors and residents had joined a stir last week and blocked the movement of water tankers going out of the Nettoor water treatment plant to register their protest over the severe scarcity of drinking water in some of the municipal areas.
However, KWA sources said that alternative arrangements had been made for supplying water from the Pazhoor pump house and most of the complaints had been addressed.
Edavanakkad panchayat vice-president V.K. Iqbal said that water scarcity continued to haunt places like Kadappuram, Chathangad, and Vachakkal West. He said that though there was an overhead water tank to cater to the needs of the panchayat, water was not being pumped into the tank for the full duration promised earlier.
He said that water from the Aniyil tank in the panchayat was now being supplied to meet a part of the requirement in the neighbouring Nayaramabalam panchayat. “Though water scarcity appears to have been solved in Pallippuram panchayat, the situation can get worse during the coming summer months,” says vice-president of the panchayat A.N. Unnikrishnan.
He said that a new supply line and establishing an overhead water tank on the land owned by the KWA in the panchayat would solve the problem of drinking water shortage in the panchayat area permanently. “A new feeder line is a must because the supplies are met through the old pipeline, which is inadequate to meet the growing demand,” he added.
KWA sources said that the Vypeen and neighbouring islands fell at the end of the supply line and there were always problems associated with water reaching the tail ends once the pumping of water was affected even for a short period. During August, about 60 hours of pumping could have been lost because of power disruptions, affecting the regular supplies, sources added. Sources also said that Edavanakkad, Njarakkal, and Fort Vypeen areas get only around 10.5 MLD of water, which is insufficient to meet the requirements.
Published - September 30, 2024 07:25 pm IST
