Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas held discussions with the Kerala Water Authority officials through videoconferencing on Saturday on the steps that need to be taken for the effective distribution of available drinking water across the State.
Water Resources Secretary Tinku Biswal, Managing Director of KWA A. Shainamol, and KWA officials from various districts took part in the meeting.
It was pointed out at the meeting that though the drought is severe, the acute shortage of drinking water is being resolved by utilising the water in the temporary check-dams and by regulating pumping.
Rainfall last year had been deficient by 62%, which had led to almost all rivers going dry by December itself. Bharathapuzha, Kadalundipuzha and Vamanapuram river are the major water sources which went completely dry. The districts facing acute shortage of drinkng water are Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Malappuram, and Kasaragod. In all these districts, drinking water distribution has been normalised by setting up water kiosks and by bringing water in tankers, officials claimed.
Drinking water shortage is not as severe in the districts of Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur. In Kollam district, though the water level in the Sasthamcotta lake reservoir has dipped substantially, water is being distributed through Kallada Irrigation Project (KIP) canal and JICA pipelines. The Minister participated in the meeting from Thiruvalla. If the monsoon is delayed this year, drinking water shortage could be acute and hence the public should voluntarily restrict use of water and avoid wastage of water, he said.
