The Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) authorities have requested the District Police Chief (Kochi Rural) to provide additional force to resume pipe-laying work of the 45 million litres per day (MLD) project from Thottumugham on the banks of the Periyar river near Aluva to the Kinfra’s Export Promotion Industrial Park near Infopark, Kakkanad.
Police protection was sought after Congress workers led by Benny Behannan, MP, and MLAs Anwar Sadath and Uma Thomas protested against the pipe-laying works at Thottumugham on Monday. Two employees of Kinfra were injured in the scuffle that broke out between the protesters and the police.
The elected representatives had alleged that the 45-MLD project for Kinfra would affect the 190-MLD project proposed by the Kerala Water Authority along the Periyar to meet the drinking water requirements of Kochiites. The Congress had blamed Industries Minister P. Rajeeve for aiding the interests of the industrial units while ignoring the concerns of the public by giving priority for the project. Mr. Rajeeve had denied the allegations stating that there was adequate quantity of water in the river for implementing both the projects.
The Kinfra authorities said they proposed to resume the pipe-laying work along the 15-km stretch from Thottumugham to its Kakkanad park soon. Though the project was initiated in 2022, it met with opposition from the public and the pipe-laying work had to be suspended. A meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in October 2023 had decided to resume the work. The authorities had asked the hydrology wing of the Irrigation Department to carry out an assessment of the availability of water in the river.
It had reportedly stated that there would be adequate quantity of water for both the projects. The Congress MLAs had rejected the assessment and had recommend that the Kinfra meet its requirement by drawing water from the nearby Kadambrayar. Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan, who addressed a press conference on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ‘Samaragni’ protest march, also reiterated the position adopted by the Congress MLAs.
