Kilivathililoode, a collection of speeches, memoirs, and essays by the writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair, had a piece on the faulty drinking water distribution system in Kozhikode city. Twenty-five years down the line, the situation has not changed much, feels the writer.
“I had then written on my concerns about the pipe-bursts at Kuttikkattoor [from where water is pumped to the city]. Such things are happening even now,” MT said while releasing Janakeeyabadalukalude Nirmithi: Uralungal Society Anubhavam, a book on the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), here on Sunday.
The writer, a city resident for long, pointed out that he had not been getting water for the past 20 days. The Mayor was claiming that water distribution was the Kerala Water Authority’s duty. “I buy seven newspapers, none of which is carrying any announcement on the likely disruption,” he pointed out.
Mayor Thottathil Raveendran, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, and A. Pradeep Kumar, M.K. Muneer, and C.K. Nanu, MLAs, were present when MT expressed the woes of city residents. MT suggested that water distribution should be handed over to institutions with proven track record which could use modern technology to help the people.
Mr. Raveendran responded to this, saying the old water pipes in the city would have to be replaced and the loss of water while transmission should be avoided. The Mayor said the work could be handed over to ULCCS and urged the Finance Minister to allocate funds in the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board for the purpose.
Dr. Isaac later said he had spoken to the MLAs and promised to release funds to solve the issue.