KOCHI: Hundreds of residents of Chellanam South Panchayat have been reeling under acute potable water shortage for the past two weeks. This has worsened the situation in the three wards of the panchayat which are already plagued by salty ground water. To protest against this, around 300 men and women carrying empty pots took out a march from the St Sebastian Church to the panchayat office on December 30.The authorities had then promised that the water supply would be resumed from the next day. However, missing the promised date, water only trickled through the taps on January 1. The quantity was nowhere close to what was promised and the next day it was salt water that flowed through the taps. “The situation is getting worse. Till about 20 days ago, we used to get water at least for three hours. Though this was not enough to meet all the requirements, we managed to adjust. Now the supply time has been reduced to more than one hour. Some areas do not get water at all. The other pipes have been damaged for a long time and there are hardly any wells or lakes that can be used. Hence, the residents are left with no alternative,” said a ward member. However, the Kerala Water authority has said that the delay in repairing a damaged motor was behind the water shortage and promised to repair it at the earliest. “The motor at the Kumbalangi pump house got damaged. There was no stand-by motor and the remaining one could not take in so much pressure. The problem has been resolved now,” said Assistant Engineer, Water Authority Karuvelipady.
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