Thiruvananthapuram: The capital city's elevated areas are reeling under severe water shortage with many of them resorting to digging bore wells or wells. But the major issue the city dwellers are experiencing is the lack of space to dig well where majority of them live in three to four cents area.
Unlike previous years, several areas in the capital city are facing severe water scarcity making the tanker lorries earn good business. If earlier, the city dwellers used to feel the ‘heat’ only after April, this time pipe connections belonging to Kerala Water Authority having been dry in high rise areas as early as during the New Year itself.
Few days ago when Neenu Arun, a 33 year old home maker staying at Kavuvila Lane at Vellayambalam in desperation went to meet Dr. A . Kowsigan, managing director, KWA to apprise him of her difficulty caused due to water scarcity, she was advised by him to look for other alternative.
“I have never seen such lackadaisical attitude by the KWA officials. What upset me all the more was when the KWA MD asked me to go for alternative arrangements to have uninterrupted water supply. Now I am poorer by '77, 000 towards the bore well and another '44, 000 towards installing the motor”, said Neenu to DC.
George Mathew, a businessman residing at Benedict Nagar at Nalanchira posted a query on ‘Where in Trivandrum’, a group in Facebook asking for KWA officials details. When he apprised them of water shortage he has been facing for more than a week, they had absolutely no clue.
“Usually, Nalanchira area does not face much water shortage. But this time my household also experienced which led me to contact the PH division north executive engineer. But the official had absolutely no clue and couldn’t give a proper reply as to when my area would receive water supply”, said George to DC.
It is not only the residential areas which are facing water crunch. The busy General Hospital has also been facing the heat with KWA daily providing 18, 000 litres of water every day. Dr. L. T. Saritha, superintendent, General Hospital told DC that they are paying '2000 daily towards tanker lorry rent to the KWA.
“It is several years since the water pipes at the General Hospital had gone dry. Before two to three years, the local councillor had intervened and made arran-gements to take a connection from the line opposite to the General Hospital. But the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi was on a trip to the city which led the authorities to cancel the sanction”, said Dr. Saritha.
The city dwellers and General Hospital authorities are all united in their demand to have a permanent solution to the water shortage. But sadly the water resources ministry officials or the KWA officials don’t have a permanent solution before them where they claim that by March 2020, they will be setting up a new plant at Aruvikara which should address the water shortage in the capital city.
