Not a drop of water to drink

KOCHI: The ongoing agitation by the residents of Cheranelloor panchayat against the Kerala Water Authority’s failure to resolve the acute problem of drinking water shortage, reached its peak on Friday morning with hundreds of them staging a protest in front of the authority office.Various political parties and panchayat members broke into the chief engineer’s office demanding immediate solution to the water crisis. Panchayat president Suresh Babu and 18 ward members joined the protest which started at 10 in the morning.They raised allegations that the authorities have been turning a blind eye to their plight by not finding a permanent solution to the water crisis. Some of the members alleged that most of their water connections are still being reverted to other panchayats.“We urge the authorities to increase the water flow to Cheranelloor by opening connections from Pachalam and Vaduthala pump houses. The protest will not be stopped, till an immediate solution is found,” Suresh Babu said.Discussions were held for at least three hours in the presence of chief engineer-in-charge, Mathew Joseph. “Immediate measures will be taken to pump water from Aluva, which could help in alleviating the shortage. Inspections will be carried out in all those areas which are facing acute water shortage from Friday afternoon,” said Joseph.Ernakulam MLA Hibi Eden who was also present for the discussions said, “Since it is the festive season, even water tanks which usually provide water to households are not available. The decision to pump water from Aluva to the 17 wards of Cheranelloor is only going to be a temporary solution.”