Inmates missing from mental asylum

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Assembly was told on Wednesday that inmates were going missing from the Mental Hospital at Peroorkada, prompting a relook at the security at the hospital.Health Minister Adoor Prakash said in a written reply that several inmates had gone missing from the hospital. Twenty-seven of the missing inmates were traced. He was replying to a question by K K Jayachandran. The authorities had also received complaints from relatives of the missing patients, the Minister said.At present, there was round-the-clock security, including a police aid post, at the hospital. Also, the Peroorkada police station was immediately informed in the event of a man-missing case. Monthly reports were filed with the Kerala High Court also in such cases, the Minister said. A meeting convened by the District Judge on June 20 has charted out an action plan to beef up security in the hospital.The City Police Commissioner has been asked to deploy more policemen on the premises. The number of in-house security staff also is to be increased. The Public Works Department has been instructed to construct boundary walls wherever necessary, it was decided at the meeting. Pipe bursts The bane of the capital city, bursting water supply pipes, found a mention in the House on Wednesday. The Assembly was told that the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) spent over Rs 4.50 crore in repairing burst pipes in the city during the LDF government’s five-year term. Majority of the bursts occurred on the main supply line linking the drinking water purification plant at Aruvikkara and Thiruvananthapuram city.Thirteen bursts were recorded on the pre-stressed concrete pipe connecting Aruvikkara and Peroorkada and one on the cast iron pipe on this stretch. The primo pipes between Peroorkada and Vellayambalam burst on four occasions. The pre-stressed concrete pipes connecting Peroorkada and Manvila also burst four times.There were 75 supply disruptions due to bursts on the 400-mm diameter pipes. The KWA spent Rs 34,13,035 on repairing pipes on the Aruvikkara-Peroorkada stretch and Rs 4.23 crore on the small and big distribution pipes crisscrossing the city.JICAWater Resources Minister P J Joseph said that the JICA-assisted water supply works will be completed in the capital city within a year. He was replying to V Sivankutty, who complained that various agencies, including KWA and KSEB, had cut up the city’s roads, resulting in hardships to the public.