Apology not enough

Water authority officials and ministers had to grovel in apology before the residents of Thiruvananthapuram, for the disastrous five days’ of water disruption. 44 wards of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipality had to struggle for five days without drinking water.

Such incidents need a punitive response from the government and it should be ensured that the terrible situation doesn’t happen twice. For that, it is pertinent for the government to find the inept officials and take them to task.

Even in the last six months, the water supply was disrupted in Thiruvananthapuram citing various repair works. It is undeniable that the officials warned about water disruption this time, but the five-day duration was too much to bear for the residents of Kerala’s capital city.

Water authority officials assigned the responsibility to contractors and scuttled from the spot to indulge in their commitments. No officials cared to monitor the work as all believed the contractors to meet the target with ease. However, a desultory attitude engulfed the workers and everything went astray. The struggle without water is something to be experienced and is beyond tormenting for the poor people of the capital city.

Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil dual carriageway works related to the replacement of two pipelines have become a disgrace to the residents of the capital due to planning errors. There was no need to stop the water supply to 44 wards, for changing the alignment of the pipeline running under the railway line and connecting it to the newly laid pipe.

The Railways had paid ten crore rupees to the Water Authority ten months ago for replacing the pipeline. After taking the money, the authorities procrastinated and finally decided to muddle up things when Malayalees were readying themselves to celebrate Onam.

Despite the hue and cries from natives for drinking water, the water resource minister only made a cameo appearance on Sunday and left the premises to his comfy quarters in the city within a few hours. It was unscrupulous of the minister to not be with the people during such a crucial time. It would be better if the minister cared to leaf through the leadership roles played by his predecessors.