Though most stretches of the Bharathapuzha dried up much before the onset of summer this time, it may not affect drinking water supply in Ottappalam and Shoranur municipality areas – thanks to Kerala Water Authority (KWA) engineers who built two temporary check-dams without waiting for official sanction and funds. Both the check-dams are holding enough water for the dry days ahead.
“Every year, the river gets dried up in the summer months resulting in acute drinking water scarcity. Only check-dams can prevent complete drying up of the river during summer. So we have taken up the works on a time-bound manner,” said R. Jayachandran, executive engineer, KWA Shoranur division.
The Bharathapuzha-based urban water supply schemes cater to nearly 30,000 people in Shoranur and 35,000 people in Ottappalam.
“The schemes were on the verge of shutting down due to drying up of the river in the beginning of January itself. The check-dams have lent a new lease of life to the schemes. The river is also partially rejuvenated,” Mr. Jayachandran said.
“Thee check-dams were constructed anticipating approval from the government. No sanction has been obtained yet from the district administration too. Hope the government would appreciate our initiative and clear the bills,” he said.
According to officials involved in the works, around 18,000 sand bags were used at each location for conserving the available surface water in the river. The expense was Rs.9.45 lakh. However, they said, payments for similar works since 2013 were still pending with the government.
“We have ensured source improvement work on a war footing, anticipating approval from higher authorities. Waiting for sanction to start the work would have been futile.
The KWA engineers were in an unpleasant situation – on the one side they were facing the public wrath as the scheme area was reeling under water scarcity and, on the other side, nobody was willing to execute the work due to mounting arrears of payment since 2013,” said an official.
