The flood-hit Kuttanad is facing scarcity of drinking water. Though the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and the respective panchayat authorities have taken steps to provide water, potable water is still a prized item in several places.
Residents of Kainakary and other parts of the region said that they continued to depend on packaged water from Alappuzha.
The floods had caused extensive damage to the reverse osmosis (RO) plants and pipelines in the region. Although measures have been initiated to repair RO plants and pipelines, it will take several weeks to restore the water supply.
KWA filling stations
Meanwhile, officials said that at least 28 KWA filling stations had been made available in the region. As many as 174 water kiosks have also been established.
“We are supplying water using trucks, tankers, and boats. The panchayats are entrusted with the task of carrying water from filling stations to the kiosks. In the meantime, steps have also been taken to resume water supply to household connections at the earliest,” an official said.
Earlier, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac directed the panchayat presidents and secretaries to ensure clean drinking water in their respective areas.
He asked the authorities to arrange facilities for people to collect water from water kiosks and reiterated that it was the responsibility of panchayat secretaries to distribute drinking water to people.
The State government has granted permission to local bodies to use own fund or the Plan fund for distributing drinking water.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to drain out floodwaters from paddy polders in Kuttanad. On Tuesday, imported high-power motor pumps sets were dispatched to different parts of Kuttanad. Around 2,000 motor pumps were damaged in the floods in Kuttanad, resulting in an inordinate delay in pumping out water from polders in Kainakary and other parts of the region.
A mobile ration shop was launched for distributing essential commodities to the flood-affected people of Kainakary. The boat carrying items was flagged off by Civil Supplies Minister P. Thilothaman here on Tuesday.