Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

KWA yet to plug major pipeline leaks

G. Mahadevan

Two leaks have not been attended to for about a month now

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leaks in water pipelines at two major locations in the city and at least two potential flashpoints in the pipelines ferrying water from Aruvikkara to the city - this is the powder keg on which the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has been sitting for many weeks now.

While the leak at Ambalamukku junction has been identified as a `major' one, the KWA officials are yet to determine the exact pipeline that has sprung a leak across the road from the entrance to the Keltron campus near the KWA head office. Sources in the KWA told The Hindu that both these leaks had not been attended to for about a month now. They also pointed out that hundreds of litres of drinking water could have been lost as a result of this.

Executive Engineer of the PH division G. Sudev said here that the KWA required the clearance of the Road Fund Board to dig up the newly refurbished road so that the leak near the Keltron campus could be located and plugged. "We have written to the Board and as soon as we receive their okay, we will start work at the site," he said. However, Mr. Sudev admitted that in emergency situations, the KWA could go ahead with repair works.

District Collector N. Ayyappan, when asked about the procedure to be followed by the KWA for leak-rectification, told The Hindu that no permission or clearance was required for the KWA to rectify leaks. "This has been made very clear. Leaks should be set right as soon as possible. No writing of letters or clearance from committees is needed for that," he said.

However, even this `confusion' is irrelevant in the case of the leak at Ambalamukku. According to sources in the KWA, the agency had no reason to wait this long to set right the leak there. "This is one place where leaks are very common. The road itself is in a semi-dug condition most of the days. This has been identified as a major leak and should be set right at once before it matures into a burst," a KWA engineer said.

Mr. Sudev said the KWA was waiting for an appropriate public holiday so that any suspension in drinking water supply could be notified in advance.

Similarly, it is yet to carry out repair work on at least two potential problem spots on a main pipeline ferrying water from Aruvikkara to Peroorkada. Around two months ago, the KWA field engineers forwarded a report pointing out that a pipeline had to be repaired urgently at Hill Top, near Vazhayila, and at a point near the bridge at Karakulam. A top KWA official, when asked to confirm such a report, told The Hindu that the agency had received no such document from its engineers on the field.

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