The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Water supply disrupted

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Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Water supply disrupted

Staff Reporter

Pipeline burst near Maruthankuzhy bridge

Pipeline ferries water to reservoir at Thirumala
Supply will be restored today morning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The supply of drinking water to some parts of the city was disrupted from noon on Tuesday following the bursting of a main pipeline near the Maruthankuzhy bridge.

The 750 mm cast iron pipeline ferries water to the Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) reservoir at Thirumala. According to KWA officials, normal supply of water would be restored on the line late on Wednesday morning. The affected areas are those that come under the Thirumala zone of the city’s water supply network.

The burst, that took place at a point along the approach road to the Maruthankuzhy bridge, was caused by the dumping of excavated earth and other construction material along this stretch of the road, KWA officials said. A heavy stone that was dumped from a height is suspected to have caused the burst.

Soon after the burst was noticed, officials of the KWA shut down a control valve located beneath the road at Vellaymbalam junction in an attempt to isolate the damaged line that branches off at this point from the main line bringing water from Aruvikkara to the reservoir at Observatory Hills.

Water rerouted

“Because we shut down the valve at Vellayambalam, we did not have to stop pumping from Aruvikkara. The water that would normally have gone to Thirumala was supplied to the Observatory zone and to the low-level zone,” a KWA engineer explained.

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran who inspected the damaged line directed KWA officials to ensure adequate supply of drinking water in tankers to areas affected by Tuesday’s burst.

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