Kollam: Water kiosks to quench thirst as summer nears

Kollam: As the state is faced with an alarming drought, the government has initiated steps to quench the thirst of its citizens.

Water kiosks will be installed in each ward of  all the 14 districts in the state where water will be filled by the Kerala Water Authority. It will be supplied free of cost though the water will be metered.

The Kerala Nirmithi Kendra will construct the kiosks and the district collectors have directed the revenue department to collect the details of wards that face water scarcity.  This will be done in coordination with the tahsildars and village officers of the respective areas.

“The government has proposed to install one kiosk each in every ward in the state. However, the number   can vary according to the scarcity or availability of water and the district collectors can decide to give additional kiosks,”  A. Shainamol, KWA managing director, told this newspaper.

The Nirmithi Kendra will submit the estimate of construction to the revenue department in accordance with the sites listed by the village officers.

The kiosks will have multiple taps to avoid overcrowding. The KWA will supply water using tankers. Kollam district will get 334 kiosks and the tahasildars and village officers  have given the list of drought-affected areas.

The authorities have also intensified the inspections to curb the misuse of water pumped by the KWA. Sasthamkotta lake,  the major source of water for Kollam, is fast drying up and its  water level has depleted  by over 100 centimetres compared to 69 cm last year.

Kollam city has a total demand of 60 MLD of water per day and currently only 28 MLD is available for distribution. Sixteen MLD is sourced from Sasthamkotta lake by the KWA  on alternate days. The rest of the water is collected from the 37 tube wells within Kollam corporation that provide nine MLD daily  and a water tank under the Japan project at Kottiyam which provides three MLD of water.