Kozhikode: 63 water kiosks to be installed by March

KOZHIKODE: The district administration is planning water kiosks in drought affected areas to tackle the summer shortage. The public can collect water from these kiosks with 5,000-litre capacity tanks filled from Kerala Water Authority reserves instead of waiting for tanker lorries. Kozhikode deputy collector (disaster management) B. Abdul Nasar said they would be ready by March 10. “We have identified nearly 2,000 places across the districts to install kiosks. Our immediate priority is 63 in the most drought-prone areas in various taluks,” he told DC.

“After assessing the severity of the situation, we will install further kiosks in other areas too. The process for purchasing the kiosks is progressing.” During the last summer, the district faced severe drought with the administration failing to cover all areas for water supply. In many places, the residents formed groups to provide potable water collected from individual wells and water storage tanks. Even this year, despite claiming to have water filled in tanks, the JICA project has not yet started their full-fledged services due to the lack of connectivity and is restricted supply only to some of the city areas.