THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With water-scarcity looming large over the state capital, the District Medical Office (DMO) has tightened surveillance in the district to combat water-borne disease this summer. The issue of water-scarcity remains unresolved in the majority of places with the Kerala Water Authority failing to address the issue.
The DMO has given strict instructions to the authorities of KWA and the city corporation to ensure safe and clean drinking water in the water scarce areas including the coastal belt, where water shortage is acute. According to the district medical office, many of the pipelines of the KWA are age-old and running in close proximity to the drains causing contamination.
“We have raised this issue in the past several years but the issue of water scarcity continues. Every year we hope that the issue will be resolved before next summer. Coastal belt is the worst affected and they are solely depending on the water tankers and store it in open containers ,” said Preetha P P, Thiruvana-nthapuram District Medical Officer.
She said that a permanent solution is the only way to address the issue. “An overhead tank or laying pipelines are the safest options to ensure clean drinking water in such areas,” she added.
