TVM water crisis: VD Satheesan demands probe, slams govt's lapses

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader VD Satheesan raised a sharp criticism against the Kerala government over the disruption of water supply in the capital city. The city dwellers have been strugging without water for four days as the maintenance work under the Kerala Water Authority disrupted the water supply. Though the authority promised to restore the supply by 4 pm on Sunday, a fault in the alignment of the pipeline delayed the work. The water supply was restored around 9.45 pm on Sunday.

Amid this, the opposition leader questioned the lapses of the government and accused the government of committing criminal negligence by without taking any action to solve the water crisis.

“ How did work at one spot disrupt water supply to the entire city? There was a serious lapse on the part of the officials. The matter should be probed in detail and strict action should be taken against the offenders. Water supply to 45 wards in the corporation has been disrupted for four days,” pointed out Satheesan.

“ Minister promised that water supply would be resumed by 4 pm on Sunday. But he failed to keep his word. There is uncertainty over the restoration of water pumping,” he added.

“ People are not getting enough water from tanker lorries. In some locations, no tanker lorry is supplying water to people. The residents are forced to leave their houses due to the water crisis. Students as well as employees are facing a tough situation. The government and corpiration should take immediate action to solve the issue,” demanded Satheesan.

The work, which began on September 5, was originally scheduled for completion by September 7. The issue occurred when the valve was installed and an attempt to reopen the supply line for the PTP-Thirumala zone was made. A technical glitch caused leakage, and pumping had to be stopped. As the work was delayed, the water supply was disrupted in the city. Around 9.45 pm on Sunday, the corporation authority announced that the work was completed and water pumping was restored.