Thiruvananthapuram's drinking water supply gone haywire

One major perk of being a resident of Thiruvananthapuram is the constant availability of clean drinking water. With more development, infrastructure projects and population expansion in the capital city, these good fortunes are fading fast.

These days, water supply is getting hindered in many places of Thiruvananthapuram. The authorities have failed their part to meet people's demands. Adding more worry is the water supply crisis in the city due to pipeline bursts.

In the last few weeks, the water supply was halted more than once. City dwellers were affected most during these pipe burst incidents as water flowed into the streets where many major shops functioned. It is reported that even on Friday, many homes were denied proper water supply due to the impending works.

The authorities are yet to provide any alternative for the growing disturbance of the water supply disruption. People in many households have taken up the routine of filling water in whatever containers available, so as to store it for better use the next day.

It is high time a solution should be drafted to end the repeated disruption of water supply in the capital city. Unfortunately, if there is a broken pipe or other obstruction, it takes a lot of time to straighten it up. It is rather a shame to admit that it takes more than twenty-four hours to close the leak in the pipe and resume the water supply even in these days of advanced technology.

Earlier, there was Blue Brigade, a team that would rush to fix the water supply problem anywhere in the city. The scheme has been put on bay and the local authorities are yet to formulate anything pragmatic to allay this continuing tension.

The storage capacity of the Aruvikka and Peppara dams built to bring water to the city has been significantly reduced due to sand and slit residues. If it rains for two days, the stream will overflow. Water treatment plants also require frequent maintenance. Friday’s water outage is also due to maintenance work at one of the treatment plants.

For almost three decades, plans were mooted to use water from the Neyyar Dam to increase water to run the city without experiencing water scarcity. It is now heard that the survey work for bringing the pipe from Neyyar to the city's water treatment plant has been completed. A new source of water has become necessary to meet the increased demands. Firm steps are needed to implement the Neyyar water scheme without wasting time.

Apart from Neyyar Dam, Vellayani also has more than required fresh water. If all these are properly utilized, the city will seldom experience water disruption.