The residents of Udarasiromani Road in the Vazhuthacaud ward have blamed the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for allegedly ignoring their complaints regarding acute water shortage in their neighbourhood.
Apprehensive about the approaching summer, the residents allege that tap water supply has been inadequate and erratic over the past six months. Repeated complaints to the KWA, they said, have failed to produce any result.
The locality, behind the Police Headquarters at Vazhuthacaud, has 162 houses. It is also just across the road from the State HQ of the KWA. The Udarasiromani Road Residents Association (USRA) on Monday told a press conference that the residents would be forced to launch an agitation at the KWA Chief Engineer’s office unless steps are taken to address their plight.
“Water supply has been more or less non-existent during daytime for the past several months. Water comes through the taps at different times during the night and never after 6 a.m. The residents include a large number of elderly people who live alone. The erratic supply causes severe hardships especially to them,” USRA president K. Jayadevan Nair said.
The association office bearers said they had met the KWA Chief Engineer on January 17. On his direction, they, along with ward councillor Rakhi Ravikumar, had met the Executive Engineer and the Assistant Engineer. “We were told that round-the-clock supply would be difficult at the moment, but our problems would be solved once work on the Smart City road is over. We were also told that until then, the supply would be increased. But that has not happened,” Mr. Jayadevan Nair said.
In January, the association had met Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine and Antony Raju, MLA, seeking a solution to the problem. “No steps have been taken so far,” said USRA secretary Ansel T. Alex. “We would set our alarms for 2 a.m. to see whether the supply has started. That is the situation here. Supply is neither consistent nor adequate,” said Manju Rajesh, another resident.
KWA officials attributed the issue to the Smart City road works in progress on the Vellayambalam-Vazhuthacaud Road. “We are installing new pipelines in the region. Once that work is over, the supply issues will be addressed,” Narayanan Namboothiri T. V., Chief Engineer (Southern Region), said. The new pipelines are expected to be in place by the first week of April, Hari N. R., Executive Engineer (North), said.
