Kochi Water project fails to reach potential
Pipe bursts plague the 22-km project which took 10 years to complete
Kochi: One of the major projects in Kochi, the much-touted Rs 210-crore Piravom drinking water project, made operational in February last, however, has not been able to achieve its full potential due to frequent bursts in the old pipelines that carry water to different areas in the city.
As per the project, the Kerala water authority is to pump water from the Muvattupuzha river, treat it at the Maradu plant and supply it to parts of the city, particularly the West Kochi area which is hit by acute water scarcity.
The project was expected to solve the drinking water problems in Maradu, Kumbalam, Kumbalangi, Chellanam, Edakochi, Fort Kochi, Naval Base, Thevara and Cochin Port areas. However, frequent pipe bursts forced the KWA to delay the full commissioning of the project.
The KWA took almost 10 years to complete pipe-laying on the 22-km stretch from Pazhoor near Pravom to Maradu and also to lay distribution pipelines to Kumbalam, Kumbalangi, Palluruthy and Maradu municipality.
“We expect that 20 million litres of water per day (MLD) can be supplied to the affected areas after completing the laying of pipelines around a 60-km area. At present, 10 MLD water is being supplied to the Maradu municipality with a population of 55,000 and Kumbalam panchayat. Chellanam and Kannamali are among the areas that are yet to get water,” said Maradu municipality chairman T.K. Devarajan.
He was of the opinion that the JNNURM project should have been continued to bring about more such developmental projects. Since the Piravom drinking water project has already become functional, the scrapping of the JNNURM would not pose any threat to it, he said.
The water project started in 2007 was set to be completed in 2009, but it got delayed mainly due to objections from residents and other agencies to digging of roads as well as frequent leakages in the existing pipelines.
Excise Minister K. Babu, who is the also the Tripunithura MLA, has now intervened in the issue and given directions to sanction Rs 2.75 crore for the project. Officials now express optimism that they will be able to lay new pipelines in place of the bursting old pipes within three months and will be able to fully commission the project before the end of the year.