Heave a sigh of relief

KOCHI: Kerala Water Authority is still carrying out the repair work of the pipe that burst on the old Kaloor-Kathrikadavu byroad, near St Francis Church, on Saturday. The water supply in the city will be disrupted till Tuesday morning. The repair work is expected to end by Monday evening and the pumping of water from Aluva pump house will resume on Tuesday.The people of the city are in dire straits due to this. Kerala Water Authority (KWA) superintendent engineer G Vanaja said that heavy rain was a hindrance and slowing down the repair work. The inflow of water underground was another problem. “The mud that has been removed is flowing back due to the heavy rain and the repair work is getting disrupted. We will replace the old broken underground pipe by Monday evening and the pumping will resume on Tuesday,” she said.G Vanaja has said that the KWA was ready to supply water in tankers on request. But so far, no one has requested us for it. We have no other solution but rely on tankers at the moment,” she said. Meanwhile, the private water suppliers in Kochi are taking advantage of the situation and making maximum profit out of it. The owner of a private transport company which supplies water in tankers said that the demand has gone up since the last two days. “The demand for water is high for the past two days. We are plying the trucks day and night. Our trucks are supplying water to the entire city,” he said. Mayor Tony Chammany said that the Corporation has been monitoring the repair work of the pipe. He has discussed the matter with KWA officials and said the water supply would resume on Tuesday. “The water crisis will be solved by Tuesday. The Corporation has started supplying water in tankers. The Corporation is sending its tankers to residential areas in the city,” he said.