Kerala - Kochi   

Apex council seeks action against illegal water connections

Staff Reporter

To organise dharna today in front of water authority chief engineer's office

KOCHI: The Ernakulam District Residents' Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC) has decided to launch an agitation demanding a permanent solution to water scarcity in the city.

On Friday morning, the association will hold a dharna in front of the Kerala Water Authority Chief Engineer's Office.

Association's general secretary, P.K. Gopalakrishnan, says supply of water in the city has come down considerably in the last couple of months. This may be because of the increased pumping of water to other areas and presence of high-rise apartment complexes in the city, he adds.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan alleges that many private builders who are constructing high-rise apartment complexes within the city limits, often, draw water from the authority's main pipelines illegally. This menace will only increase, unless checked at the right time, he adds.

The main demand of the council in staging the dharna is immediate action against unauthorised water connections taken with or without the knowledge of the authority's officials.

The apex council had earlier demanded speedy completion of the work on water supply schemes.

According to a report prepared by Tata Consultancy engineers on the demand of the Kerala Urban Development Project, the daily need of potable water in Kochi in 2006 is expected to be 405 mld (million litres per day).

It is said that around 60 per cent of the present need can be met if the Ad hoc Water Supply Scheme (Hudco scheme), the Chowara Water Supply Scheme and the Choondy Water Supply Scheme are completed in time. But these projects, implementation of which has lagged, need to be completed on a war-footing, the council says.

The council has also demanded distribution of potable water using water tankers in Mattancherry and Fort Kochi areas till the DFID-assisted water supply augmentation scheme is completed.

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