Thiruvananthapuram: It is monsoon, but there is very little water in the open wells of Chandavila ward. People of Ilippakkuzhi and Kuruvallam have to wait for water tankers sent by the Corporation. Fortunately, water reaches each point once in every two days, and the people are not complaining, says Chandavila councillor Bindu S. The ward is just recovering from a severe summer. Chandavila was one of the worst hit, as it is the only ward among 100 wards which is not fed by water from Aruvikkara. It falls at the trailing end of Ayilamkadavu Water Supply Scheme, which draws water from Vamanapuram river.
The irony is that the ward has more than 10 ponds. These need to be cleaned, so that the public can use it. Bindu says that one has been revived by Irrigation Department, while a request for reviving two are being processed at the Corporation. The estimates are being prepared. Near Kuruvallam, a borewell project is in the cards according to Bindu, however it remains to be seen whether it will siphon off more water, further lowering the water table.
Bindu says she hopes some fund will come through as part of Corporation's mini-drinking water project, announced in the budget, aimed at reviving local water resources. In that case Kuzhikkatt-ukonam pond will be revived, she says. The monsoon in the city is not as intense as it was in the previous years, but other wards have not had a water shortage issue yet. Sources say that water tankers are sent out to seven wards including Vizhinjam, Njandoorkonam, Kattayikonam and Chandavila. But recently a pipeline was laid benefitting 300 households at Madavoorpara, at Kattayikonam.
