Water supply crisis: Kerala Water Authority resumes pumping to city areas on Sunday night

Kerala Water Authority restarts water supply in Thiruvananthapuram after 4-day crisis, sparking outrage and demands for accountability.

The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) managed to restart pumping of drinking water to Thiruvananthapuram city areas on Sunday night, even as large swathes of the city went without drinking water for the fourth consecutive day. The unexpected crisis that hit normal life has sparked outrage and demands for action against officials responsible for the supply disruption.

Minister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine said the pumping was resumed at 10 p.m. He expressed regret over the hardship caused to the public on account of the delay. Barring untoward incidents, supply to low-lying areas was expected to be stabilised by midnight and the rest of the affected areas by Monday morning, the KWA said.

Citing the problems in water supply, District Collector Anu Kumari has declared a holiday on Monday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, in Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation limits.

The alignment of the 700 mm transmission main passing through CIT Road at Melarannoor had to be changed in view of the doubling of the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil railway line. According to Mr. Augustine, it was estimated that the work could be completed in 48 hours. Although the work was completed on time, a sluice valve had unexpectedly sprung a leak when the line was charged on Saturday, triggering the crisis. Mr. Augustine, after inspecting the work site at Melarannur on Sunday morning, had promised that the pipeline would be ready by 4 p.m. allowing the KWA to restart pumping from the Aruvikkara water treatment plant. However, the KWA missed the 4 p.m. deadline following a 3 cm difference in the alignment of pipeline sections with respect to the sluice valve.

The crisis is estimated to have affected over 40 wards of the Corporation. With taps remaining dry and the stored water running out, daily life skittered off the tracks, forcing many households to depend on hotels and takeaways for food. There were cases where residents took refuge in the homes of relatives, even as the demand for fixing responsibility for the inordinate delay in restoring the supply grew louder by Sunday evening.

Although the KWA and the Corporation operated tankers to supply water, this arrangement also proved inadequate in managing the crisis.

Sunday being the fourth day since water supply was hit on account of the work, the incident sparked widespread outrage against the KWA. Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan blamed the State government for “criminal negligence.” V.K. Prasanth MLA demanded action against erring officials. The Youth Congress took out a protest march to the residence of Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine.