In many parts of the state, including the capital city, pipe cracks have become a regular occurrence. The hardship caused by this is not small for the families who depend only on the water authority to meet their water needs. Pipe cracks and water outages are so unexpected that everyday life is often thrown into disarray. Also, it has become common for the authorities to shut off the water after giving prior notice. Water authorities are not unaware of the difficulties that arise when water supply is interrupted for a long time. Still, the steps to quickly fix the problem and restore water supply are slow. These are going to test people's patience.

A new group has also arrived to block the water supply in the cities. The companies that supply natural gas to homes are digging the roads and installing gas pipes. Instead of the current cooking gas, natural gas is going to be the star in the future. This change has been welcomed by the majority of the city dwellers. The pipe-laying that started months ago has spread to the small roads. Its biggest problem is water supply pipes that break during digging. Not a day goes by without a pipe breaking somewhere. Even though the company claims that it lays gas pipes with utmost care, the experience is otherwise. Last day, the main water pipeline burst near Kumarapuram, disrupting water supply in many areas, including the medical college. As per announcement, the repair will be completed on Thursday night and the water supply will be back to normal.

It goes without saying that digging holes on the road should be done with utmost care. Senior engineers in charge of the Water Authority are also required to supervise these types of works. But gas pipeline crews dig holes in the road without adequate precautions or supervision. Although there are mechanical systems, water supply pipes often break due to lack of care.

The water authority does not see burst pipes and water outages as such a big problem. This is not new to the city dwellers as the water supply is frequently disrupted due to various other reasons. Fifteen places in and around the city were flooded after a main pipeline burst on Wednesday night. Due to maintenance work, water was cut off for one or two days in many parts of the city. Even if the broken pipe is replaced and pumping is started again, it will take two to three days for the water supply to return to normal. It will take longer for water to reach higher areas. Even though the gas pipeline is an essential service, it is unfortunate that it changes to a process to break pipes. A condition should be imposed that the gas pipeline should be dug under the supervision of the Water Authority officials.