The New Year seems to have brought little respite to the water woes of Cheranalloor residents as they were forced to undertake the first major protest of the year to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), which, in fact, has become a way of life for them over the years, demanding restoration of drinking water supply on Tuesday.
The protesters led by Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod and panchayat members including, Cheranalloor panchayat president K.G. Rajesh, laid siege to the office of KWA Superintending Engineer for more than two hours eventually eliciting a written assurance from the official to restore water supply in a couple of days.
15 wards affected
A day-long shut down of the Aluva treatment plant on January 8 was the latest bug to hit the water supply in the panchayat. “Even a single day’s shutdown hits the water supply in our areas for over more than a month and a longer shutdown could be even worse. Water supply is yet to be restored in 15 of the 17 wards in the panchayat since the latest shutdown. It has now almost become a ritual to stage a protest to get the supply restored,” said Mr. Rajesh.
KWA official, he said, has promised to restore the water supply to normal levels within two days by boosting the pumping.
Mr. Vinod said that a lasting solution to the problem could be found within a year by commissioning a ₹21-crore project whereby new pipelines will be laid directly from the pump house at Thammanam to Cheranalloor and storing water in an overhead tanker to be constructed at Kunnumpuram. “The laying of the pipeline near the Edappally railway cross will begin on Wednesday while permission is awaited from the Public Works Department, Kochi Corporation, and National Highways Authority of India for the rest of the area,” he said.
Manoj Bhaskar, district treasurer of the Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council and a resident of Cheranalloor, said that the prolonged disruption in water supply has become a way of life for people in most parts of the panchayat.
While admitting to the problem, Water Authority officials attributed it to the location of the panchayat along the tail end of the supply line. Any disruption in the Aluva water treatment plant affects the supply in Cheranalloor and lingers even after the pumping is resumed and it takes days before the supply gets stabilised, they said.
