KOCHI: The Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) is facing a predicament with the one lakh litre capacity overhead water tank built two years ago continuing to leak and the attempt of the Central PWD which built it, to plug it, falling flat. The drinking water facility was completed at the Siberia hostel compound two years ago but it has not yet not become operational as during testing itself it showed leakage. CPWD has been given '54.56 lakh towards the construction and as per its statement, it needs to be given another Rs 11.32 lakh for the work.
The issue was raised recently at the Cusat Senate meeting and the authorities replied to Senate member K K Kabeer, who raised the question, that they too were concerned about the state of the drinking water facility. They said that such facilities were expected to last at least 50 years but apparently not this one.
Two years ago, when the issue of leakage was raised with the officials of Cusat, they had said that the facility was yet to be handed over and hence they were not aware of any leakage.
The university was trying to wipe out its spending of huge sums on drinking water being paid to the Kerala Water Authority by building a lake on the campus with a capacity to hold 3,36,00,000 litre of water. The plan was to purify and pump this water to the overhead tank and supply for drinking water needs. But this has failed to take off. The water reservoir has been made in 55 cents of land at a total expenditure of Rs 1,77,00,000. Through this, the university is expected a cut of Rs 0.75 crores in the non- plan expenditure by wiping out KWA bills mainly.
