Kochi: Water supply in the city has been disrupted as a pipe broke at Pallippadi near on Palarivattom-Thammanam Road on Tuesday. Over 30 wards in Kochi Corporation have been affected with the major pipe carrying water from Aluva to the city broke.
The district officials of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) said the water supply will be reinstated by Wednesday evening after carrying out the necessary repair works. District Collector Dr Renu Raj visited the area and took stock of the situation.
The area where the pipe broke witnessed a flash flood-like situation with gushing water inundating roads and shops along. Traffic at Palarivattom was disrupted after portions of a road caved in in the aftermath of the incident.
The water woes in Kochi doubled with the pipe break which happened at a time when the western regions of Ernakulam district has already been reeling under a similar crisis.
Pumping from Aluva has been suspended to ensure that water don't flow onto the road and nearby area through the broken pipe. The district authorities have decided to distribute water from the Corporation's tanker in areas which face water shortage. A control room will be opened to coordinate water distribution if needed.
The district collector has instructed the KWA to repair the roads damaged due to the pipe break after fixing the issue. The water authority has also been asked to identify old pipes and take steps to fix them.
Residents of west Kochi, as well as neighbouring Thrikkakara municipality and Maradu, Kumbalam, Chellanam and Kumbalanghi panchayats have been facing water shortage for days reportedly due to pump failures. The authorities on Tuesday distributed 2,20,000 litres of water in west Kochi and neighbouring panchayats. In Kumbalangi panchayat, 6,000 litres of water was distributed and 18,000 litre in Chellanam.
