‘Arrangements made for hospitals, hotels’

Need of the hour: The Rs. 127-crore Jalanidhi project supplies 19 million litres of water a day. File photo

The Kerala Water Authority’s water supply to the city is being rationed to ensure that usage of the water in the Aruvikkara reservoir is stretched until May 25, Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas has said. Arrangements have been made for unrestricted water supply to hospitals and hotels, a release said.

Although the crisis would be solved in the event of sufficient rainfall in the catchment area of the Peppara dam, plans have been made to transport water from Neyyar dam to Aruvikkara via the Kariyode canal and Aniyilakkadavu. A distance of 8.5 km has to be covered to achieve this task, which is fraught with the risk of loss of water during transmission.

A dredger has been brought from Alappuzha to speed up the pumping process. Two earthmovers have begun operation for cleaning up the Kariyode canal.