Everyday life has been disrupted in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, by a water crisis caused by the disruption in water supply by the  Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for five consecutive days. The disruption is owed to the realignment of 500 mm and 700 mm pipes by KWA, to make way for the railway track doubling on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari route. Almost all residents of the 40 wards under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation faced struggles as the city did not have access to even drinking water. 

The water supply was fully disrupted in 33 and partially disrupted in 11 corporation wards from September 5. The residents had been informed in advance about the water disruption on September 5 and 6, so they stored water for two days. However, by the third day, many households ran out of water.

Everyday activities like cooking have been affected by the disruption of water supply. "We cook only once in the morning and eat the same food for both breakfast and lunch. At night, we make do with just fruits. This is the first time we’ve ever faced such a severe water shortage. We fetch two or three buckets of water from a well in the next lane and try to manage with that. We can’t continue like this for another day," Rajamma, a resident of Thirumala, told TNM.

What caused the disruption?

The track doubling on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari route is what necessitated the realignment of the water supply pipes. The work was estimated to be completed in 48 hours – start on September 5 and complete by September 7. However, the work took more time than expected. Moreover, an unexpected leak and valve alignment issues on the KWA pipes contributed to the crisis.

“In the future, we will be more cautious when carrying out such activities,” Minister for Water Resources, Roshy Augustine, told the media on Sunday, September 8. The same day, the Minister Roshy also said that water pumping from Aruvikkara, a village near the city, would commence at 4 pm, and that the issues were expected to be resolved by then. However, KWA was not able to do this either, due to valve alignment issues.

A day earlier, on September 7, Labour Minister V Sivankutty met with residents and assured them that the water supply would resume by next morning. However, the resumption of the water supply was further delayed by the leak in the pipe.

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Deputy Mayor PK Raju called the leak an unexpected event. “Frequent rain caused significant delays in work and the soil collapsed while digging. In addition to that, initially, a leak had happened, then valve alignment issues arose. All these factors contributed to the delay,” he explained. 

Raju said that the local body arranged 40 water tankers to distribute water in different wards. However, some residents told TNM that they didn’t receive water from tanks. Due to lack of water, many people relocated to their relative's houses and many are considering relocation. 

Rajini, a Valiyavila resident, said, "For the last four days, we have been getting water from a roadside pipe. Water comes only in the evening and morning for a short time. People from the neighbouring street also come here to collect water. There are no tankers available when we contact KWA. How do they expect us to survive?”

However, Raju said, “The only areas that we were unable to distribute the water to are those where roads are narrow and unreachable for tankers.” 

Due to the uncertainty over the restoration of water supply, district collector Anu Kumari announced a holiday on Monday, September 9, for educational institutions within the Corporation limits. Schools were also directed to reschedule exams that were to be held on Monday.