Kuttanad reels under acute drinking water shortage

Safe drinking water is a scarce commodity in the water-logged region

It has been a tough few months for septuagenarian Indira Sahadevan of Aruvathilchira colony sandwiched between the green expanse of Mecherivakka paddy polder and Pampa river at Mankombu (Pulinkunnu grama panchayat) in Kuttanad.

She was forced to shuttle the last four months of 2021 between her small home and a relief camp after the colony got inundated first by floodwaters and then by the intrusion of seawater through the Thanneermukkom barrage. Though the flood threat eased at the turn of the year, the elderly woman along with 38 families living in close quarters in the colony are now up against another recurrent issue- an acute shortage of safe drinking water.

"Floods or potable water crisis, water remains the biggest problem in our lives year-round," laments Ms. Sahadevan. "I won't say water scarcity is more severe now than in the monsoon period. Be it rainy season or summer, we lack enough clean water to quench our thirst," she says.

The Pampa river, which overflowed its banks and brought untold misery to the residents only a few months ago, is flowing gently. Thulasi and a couple of other women are washing clothes and utensils at the river ghat in front of the colony. "We are well aware that this water is contaminated with all kinds of pollutants including chemical pesticides and fertilizers used in the paddy fields in the region. But we are left with no other choice. We use this water for bathing, washing clothes and cooking. During extreme situations, we also use it for drinking purposes after boiling," says Thulasi.

Though the water connection of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has reached the colony, residents say that they have not seen a single drop of water falling from the three public taps there for the past couple of years.

Their only source of drinking water is a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant. "The plant is providing water at ₹1 per litre. Its functioning, however, is irregular. Most of us make a living on daily wages and MGNREGA work. We can't afford to buy bottled or potable water. Our young children are sometimes forced to drink the mucky and contaminated water," says Chinju R., a resident of the colony, adding "we no more fear floods. All we want is safe drinking water."

The colony has reported at least half-a-dozen cancer cases in recent years, which the residents blame on the ingestion of unsafe water.