The Hindu : Water supply hit as KWA saves on power bill?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Water supply hit as KWA saves on power bill?

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM DEC.15. A move allegedly adopted by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) to bring down the escalating electricity bills has resulted in several areas of the city going dry. Taps at hundreds of houses remain dry for the past couple of weeks on account of the development.

The immediate cause is the alleged reluctance on the part of the KWA to repair the tube well installed to feed the overhead water tank at Asramam. Sources said the tube well, if made operational, would consume electricity worth over Rs. 20,000 per month.

The apathy on the part of the KWA is to ensure that it saves on electricity bills.

Enquiries with the KWA are met with the response that obtaining sanction for repair of the tube well is a lengthy process, which has to be cleared from the State capital. Sources, however, said that a request for the same had so far not gone beyond the local office of the KWA here. Already Rs. 1.14 lakh is due from the Asramam reservoir to the KSEB.

A good portion of the drinking water supply for the city is met from the fresh water Sasthamcotta Lake. The tube well was constructed to supplement the supply from the lake. The 25-lakh litre capacity tank should have a minimum water level of 1.10 metres to maintain a steady supply of water in the morning hours to the areas it feeds.

In a situation where the tube well does not function, the water level remains low. However, the tank has to ensure round-the-clock supply to the nearby ESI Hospital for which a separate supply system has been installed. In order to meet this requirement, supply to the other areas is erratic.

The KWA, however, argues that there is no need to repair the tube well as many people, especially in residential areas, are not paying the water bills. The consumers counter this by saying that the water meters are not in working condition in many areas and the KWA slaps an arbitrary bill on them. Hence the billing system has to be properly streamlined. This would involve replacing the existing water meters. But uncertainty prevails on who, the KWA or the consumers themselves, should take the responsibility to replace the meters.

Meanwhile, KWA sources said the amount on record released from the Sasthamcotta lake for the city did not tally with the actual quantity received in the city, which is 24 km away.

There are allegations that the ice factories based in the Shakthikulangara-Neendakara fishing belt are engaged in siphoning off the water.

However, there has been no move on the part of the KWA to investigate into reasons for the water loss.

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