Town residents thirsty for a solution

Even as three of the 13 Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants shutting its operations leaving town residents parched, Alappuzha municipality and Kerala Water Authority (KWA) are engaged in blame game with no solution to the water woes of the public.

The RO plants set up during the previous UDF Government with funds from local MLAs fund had been the only source of pure drinking water with KWA’s water supply still not reaching many parts of the town. The plants at Pazhaveedu, Vellakinar and Alissery were the ones closed down for the last few days.

However, KWA authorities are of the opinion that it was the respective local bodies, Alappuzha municipality in this case, that should provide the fund for maintenance works. The annual maintenance of these RO plants would come to nearly Rs 23 lakh. “We have orders from our Managing Director not to engage in maintenance activities of these RO plants as there were no separate funds. We had already written to municipality in this regard in the past and have shot off another letter to the body the other day. Also we have sent letters to district collectors and two local MLAs in this regard the same day,” he said.

The municipality on the other hand says the KWA should for now repair the plants, while the municipality would fund the future repairs by earmarking the fund for the same in the next financial year. “It was a month ago that the KWA asked us to repair the plants citing one Government Order. It was too late for the cash-starving municipality to fund the repairs brink of plan year end. We will soon convene a meeting, which was called off due to the death of Governor a few days back, to ask the KWA to undertake the repairs this time,” Municipal chairperson, Mercy Diana Macido said.

The authorities say one of the RO plants was closed down due to the damages to its motor, the other two needed a routine maintenance service to replace its membrane.

The closing down has affected residents in Mullackkal, Chungam, Pazhaveedu, Kaithavana and other places in the town.

With the battle intensifies on who will fund the repairs, residents have little hope to quench their thirst.