A prolonged disruption in water supply, coupled with the scorching heat, threw life off-track for hundreds of people across the city on Monday, with many areas remaining waterless for the third day on the trot.
The disruption, necessitated by the shifting of 700-mm pipes near Thakaraparambu in order to make way for the proposed flyover there, had begun at 2 p.m. on Saturday and, as per an official communiqué from the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), was supposed to end by 8 p.m. on Sunday. However, the mammoth task, which saw a large team of engineers and labourers of the utility labouring from Saturday, could not be completed as per schedule and it was well past 5 p.m. on Monday when the work was completed.
Even then, total restoration took a good four hours after that, according to calls from the public to the office of this newspaper, with some saying that they were yet to get water even at 9 p.m.
For many who missed the notice issued on Friday by the KWA and which appeared on Saturday, the misery was more with the woes beginning on Saturday evening.
Mammoth task
The KWA officials said the task was delayed because of the two joints and the S-bend that had to be interconnected without disturbing another 375-mm pipe passing over the 700-mm pipe and also because the area had several other utility cables that could not be disturbed.
Long queues
Earlier in the day, areas such as the Karimadom Colony, where drinking water supply has perennially been a contentious issue with the residents complaining of neglect from the authorities, witnessed long queues in front of tankers that were pressed into service by the KWA to tackle the complaints that began flowing in from Sunday night.
According to officials, 18 tankers were used by the KWA on Monday, making 236 trips to various areas from where distress calls were received.
The areas that were affected included Chala, Manacaud, East Fort, Kamaleshwaram, Ambalathara, Eenchakkal, Vallakadavu, Beemapally, Shanghumughom, Poonthura, Pattoor, Pettah, Chakka, All Saints area, Karikkakom, Palkulangara, Sreekanteshwaram, Veli, Anayara, Oruvathilkota and Kannammoola among others.
