Water supply restored in Kochi’s Thrikkakara, neighbouring areas

Water supply to several parts of Kochi, which was disrupted following a major pipeline burst in Thrikkakara, has been restored. The supply to several parts of Western Kochi, including Thrikkakara, Kalamassery, Vypeen, etc was hit after a pipeline of  the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) burst on Wednesday night at Pipeline Junction, Thrikkakara. The incident occurred following the bursting of a 900 mm pipeline carrying water from Aluva to Perumanoor, disrupting supply to several parts of Kochi and neighbouring areas.

According to KWA officials, the supply has been restored from Thursday night post the maintenance work. “We have started pumping the water and the supply will become normal in two days. One of the reasons for the pipe burst is its age. The aging infrastructure along with the load caused by vehicular movement, could be the reasons,” said a KWA source. With supply getting hit across several municipalities, people had to rely on tankers for water supply.

Thrikkakkara municipality vice-chairperson Shereena Shukoor said that supply has been restored in Thrikkakara. “The whole area was affected following the pipe burst. We could address the water shortage by relying on tanker supply as well as the panchayat’s own mini drinking water project. In two days, the supply will be normal,” said Ms. Shukoor.

According to a representative of SUEZ, the French firm which took over the operation and maintenance of the KWA pipeline network, the pipeline burst was rectified. “There was a leakage in a joint in the pipeline. The work was carried out on an emergency basis,” said the company representative.