Water theft on the rise in city, say officials

No revenue for 40% of supply: KWA

About 40% of water distributed in the city and suburbs through piped connections of the Kerala Water Authority provides no revenue.

Officials at the Non-Revenue Water Management (NRWM) said the incidents of water theft in the rural areas had increased. A number of incidents of drawing water through hose connections from the distribution line and pumps attached to the line had been uncovered recently, they said.

Unattended leakages make one of the major losses as also faulty meters. These issues as well as the unauthorised connections go unnoticed till someone makes a complaint.

A major theft unearthed recently was an unauthorised connection to a plot in Cheranelloor that housed a workshop.

While the Kaloor sub-division has filed a police complaint on the theft, other proceedings are awaited. While the owner said the huge tank on the ground was for rainwater harvesting, KWA officials found a supply line connected to the tank.

An NRWM official said the ownership of the land had been found to be a major problem among the people for not taking a proper connection and resorting to water theft. However, the official said that KWA provides water connection on the basis of the Aadhar number of a person.