With public protests rising over the delay in repairing a leaking underground line of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) at the busy Melepayalam area in the city, a meeting convened by the District Collector on Thursday saw authorities passing the responsibility from one to the other.
With discussions reaching nowhere, District Collector C.A. Latha, an official statement said, finally gave an ultimatum that the repairs sould be completed within two days without causing any nuisance to the public.
The repair work had started on Monday last, but the police had intervened, saying that the work was disturbing the traffic in the area. They had demanded that repairs should only be conducted during the nights.
Speaking at the meeting, KWA officials complained to the Collector that they could not complete the job this way. However, senior city police officials countered the KWA, saying that no prior information was given to them about the work. This alleged lapse from the KWA had resulted in the police having to bear the entire brunt of traffic snarls in the area.
But at this point, the District Collector had intervened saying that in future, the authorities would have to take up these issues with the District Coordination Committee, which would sort it out.
It was then that the Public Works Department officials washed their hands of the issue by saying that since the road at Melepalayam was newly-built, the PWD could not be held responsible and the KWA itself would have to take full responsibility for the repairs.
