Praveen Gopal and his neighbours living in the 90 residential units in an apartment complex in Edappally are at the mercy of tanker lorries for water.
Water that trickles in from the lone water connection provided by the Kerala Water Authority to the storage tank in the block is hardly enough for the 360 residents. The water stored in the sump of the complex is pumped to an overhead tank, which is distributed among apartments.
With no groundwater source in the complex, and the water supplied by the water authority falling way short of demand, the residents have no choice but to buy water supplied in tanker lorries.
On an average, the residents have to cough up Rs. 90,000 a month for purchasing water from private suppliers. This would bring a monthly additional burden of Rs. 1000 on each family in the apartment, he said.
In some apartment complexes, the residents have made use of wells. They have also installed reverse osmosis plants for cleaning up well water. Earlier, the residents had to buy around 25,000 litres a week as water scarcity hit the area. The dependency on tanker lorries was reduced considerably with the use of purified well water.
The Kochi corporation is also turning a blind eye towards the plight of the residents of flat complexes.
“The corporation has been providing water at some common points in the city for people. I doubt whether the residents of the flats would come out and collect water from the common supply points,” said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi corporation.
The civic body has no plans to provide water for the residents of flats and apartments, he said.
