A meeting convened at the Collectorate here on Saturday has decided to extend the laying of drinking water pipelines to some of the elevated regions in the city, including Pallimalakkunnu and Eravathukunnu, so that water will be made available to these regions as well in the first phase of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided drinking water project.
The meeting convened by the district administration at the behest of M.K. Raghavan, MP, in the presence of KWA and JICA authorities, decided that water would be made available to these areas by connecting their line with a storage tank fixed on a relatively elevated place, instead of connecting it to the tank at Malaparamba, which is closer to them and is set up on a lower level.
“With the decision, drinking water will be made available to all the elevated regions in the city, including Pallimalakkunnu, Chevangottukunnu, and Eravathukunnu in the first phase itself of the JICA project,” said Jose T. Thomas, a representative of the Pallimalakkunnu Residents’ Association, who attended the meeting.
The Hindu had extensively reported on the hardships of the residents during peak summers.
The reports had also highlighted the bleak prospects of getting the water supply ready for them in the first phase of the project. The JICA authorities had cited technical hurdles for the process, despite the region being the most affected in the district.
Over 200 residents at Pallimalakkunnu, 250 at Chevangadukunnu, and as many families in Eravathukunnu would benefit by the decision, said a release from the district administration after the meeting.
“The survey to extend the pipeline had been completed earlier and now the authorities have promised to start the extension work for pipeline immediately,” said Mr. Thomas. JICA project director K.G. Harshan, KWA executive engineer M. Hameed, District Collector C.A. Latha, and representatives of different residents’ forums attended the meeting.
