Water supply to the West Kochi regions will be disrupted at least till Saturday night following a burst in the 700 mm concrete pipe of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) near Atlantis on Friday evening.
The pipe burst threw traffic out of gear along the Thevara-Ernakulam route. Repair work could begin only after 9 p.m. hours after the incident as the excavator brought to dig up the earth could not reach the spot due to traffic congestion.
“Water supply to Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Thoppumpady regions will be disrupted for the next 24 to 30 hours in view of the burst in the 700 mm pipeline. The traffic snarl that developed after the incident is affecting our operations,” said Govinda Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer, KWA.
Officials said that the pipeline was almost 38 years old. A similar burst had occurred in July last year. Water is pumped from the Perumanoor pumping station to the KWA’s Karuvelipady sump through the main pipeline. Bureaucratic delays had slowed down the work on replacement of the pipeline. KWA officials said that a plan estimate is ready and they are awaiting government clearance soon.
The pipeline was laid on the side of the main road initially but its position shifted to almost middle of the road following road widening in the Ernakulam-Thammanam route. A section of the main pipeline also passes through the Shipyard premises, according to the KWA officials.
Traffic regulated
Traffic through the area was thrown out of gear as it had to be restricted to single lane.
Though the Traffic West police deployed additional men to control traffic it was way beyond what they could manage. The weekend rush added to the woes of motorists and the police alike.
