Thrikkakara to tap all sources to tackle water shortage

The Thrikkakara municipal authorities have said they will tap all sources, including open wells, ponds and rock quarries to meet the shortage of drinking water in the municipal area.

Municipal chairperson Ajitha Thankappan said she had visited the sites of several granite quarries as well as open wells to see if the sources could be utilised to meet the severe drinking water shortage in the municipality. She said the water shortage was more severe in the eastern areas of the municipality like Thengode.

Ms. Thankappan said the civic body was doing everything to ensure supply of drinking water to all households. She said a survey of the open wells and sources of drinking water was being done to ensure that they were cleaned up and made available for supplies.

Residents in Thrikkakara had called for augmentation of the water supply system, possibly with a new storage tanker. The opening up and utilisation of the Periyar valley canal system to recharge drinking water sources in the municipal area has also been suggested.

The residents have also called for providing a link between the municipality and the water conservation site now being used by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore.

Salim Kunnumpuram, general secretary of Thrikkakara Municipal Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council, has said that the municipal authorities must pay attention to the long-standing demand for cleaning up the 16-km Periyar valley canal passing through the municipal area. He claimed that if the encroachments were cleared and water flow ensured, drinking water sources in the area could be recharged.

In a recent petition to the municipal authorities, the residents had said that encroachments could be cleared using the housing scheme by the State government for those without land or home of their own.

The present water supply system in one of the fastest growing municipal areas in Ernakulam district was envisaged for about 20,000 to 30,000 residents. The municipal area has grown rapidly and the population is now around 1.5 lakh. The growth of new areas like the Infopark has added to the burden of demand for drinking water.