Kerala - Kochi   

Residents block traffic through Goshree bridges

Staff Reporter

Protest against water supply disruption at Vypeen

KOCHI: Residents of Vypeen blocked traffic through the Goshree bridges at Vypeen on Tuesday, to protest against the interruption in the supply of drinking water in barges for the third consecutive day.

The blockade started around 7 a.m., as a spontaneous reaction, with women and children participating in large numbers. People gathered at Kalamukku Junction near the entry point of the Goshree bridges at Vypeen and blocked the vehicles. The blockade continued till around 12 noon.

Two barges were pressed into service for supplying water on an emergency basis with the cooperation of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), according to District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish.

He also promised to take up with the Kerala Water Authority Chief Engineer the issue of water supply to Vypeen through pipelines.

Kochi Tahsildar Venugopal and Assistant Tahsildar Lysa held talks with the protesting people.

Meanwhile, Goshree Islands Action Council chairman Majnu Komath pointed out that even after the Vypeen component of the HUDCO Project was partially commissioned, water was being supplied in barges from A.G. Velayudhan Road to Fort Vypeen on the southern side. The barge did not arrive for three consecutive days this week, with the result that the people were left without even a drop of drinking water, he said.

Mr. Komath complained that though a district-level monitoring committee had been formed to look into the progress of the HUDCO Project, the committee had not held any meeting recently.

He said that if the committee had held regular meetings, situations like what happened on Tuesday could have been averted, by bringing the interruption in barge supply to the attention of the authorities concerned.

The Collector said that the Government had sanctioned Rs.1 crore to be distributed to the contractors of tanker lorries distributing drinking water. The money will be distributed from May 15.

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