Residents of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry are grappling with an acute water shortage following the damage to an old concrete pipeline that supplies water from the Perumanoor pumphouse to Mattancherry. The incident occurred four days ago, and the delay in repair work is exacerbating the water woes in these areas.
Local Frustration Over Slow Repairs
According to local residents, authorities are not making sufficient efforts to complete the repair work. The pipeline that burst runs through Cochin Shipyard and is an old infrastructure dating back to the British period. T K Asharaf, works standing committee chairman and councillor from Mattancherry, stated, "The repair work is ongoing, but the agency responsible for the repairs has not informed us when it will be completed."
KWA's Stance and Private Agency Involvement
When contacted, senior Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials did not respond to queries about the progress of the work. However, sources within KWA indicated that the repair responsibility lies with a private agency. "The government has entrusted the operation and maintenance of KWA's utilities in the city to a private firm. They are supposed to carry out the repair work within 24 hours," KWA sources said.
Need for Pipe Replacement
According to corporation authorities, pipe bursts can be avoided only if the old, dilapidated pipes are replaced with new ones. Asharaf noted, "There is a proposal to replace the old pipes with new ones. The government has allocated Rs 7 crore for this purpose and Rs 1.5 crore for relaying roads. However, the work is yet to start."
Upcoming Water Supply Disruption
Meanwhile, KWA is planning to relocate a 900-diameter pipeline to facilitate the construction of a railway overbridge at Purayar near Aluva. This will result in a disruption of water supply from the Chowara water treatment plant on Friday and Saturday. The supply to several areas, including Paravur municipality, Chendamangalam, Kottuvally, Ezhikkara, Chittattukara, Vadakkekara, Njarackal, Kuzhuppilly, Pallippuram, Nayarambalam, and Edavanakkad, will be affected, KWA officials confirmed.
