Trivandrum: Problems with drinking water interrupt daily life in the city

The people who live in high parts of cities are the ones who suffer the most from the rising mercury levels. Although representatives of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) assert that Aruvikkara has enough drinking water, there are plenty of tanker trucks that are constantly delivering water across the city.

Those in need of these tanker services rely on the Thiruvananthapuram corporation’s “Smart Trivandrum” smartphone application, which allows anybody to schedule water delivery.

There hasn’t been enough drinking water in the city for a few weeks due to pipe breaches in many locations. Those who stay in Jawahar Nagar’s high residential neighborhoods, Medical College, and Sreekariyam, however, are the most impacted. The majority of patrons are compelled to reserve drinking water using the “Smart Trivandrum” app.

The majority of his coworkers, according to M Shafi, a tanker truck driver in Nedumangad, have been busy delivering drinking water to different high locations in the city and suburbs. “Over the past few days, I have been feeling under the weather. I had so requested my coworkers to fill in for me. I was informed that various regions have been impacted over the last several weeks owing to pipe bursts,” Shaji said.

Under the tanker service, customers may reserve 2,500, 5,000, 11,000, and 20,000 liters of water for less than Rs. 1,800, Rs. 2,400, and Rs. 4,800, depending on their demands. A business help desk employee said, “There has been an intense demand for drinking water due to shortage in many areas.”

The treatment facilities in Aruvikkara, Choozhampala near Pappanamcode, PTP Nagar, and Attingal, as well as the KWA storage tanks at the Kerala Works site in Vellayambalam, provide the water for the service. However, alleging a lack of water in the region, locals have recently objected to tanker trucks obtaining water from Choozhampala.

Thiruvananthapuram city people need 320 million liters per day (MLD). Tuesday’s water level at Peppara Dam was 102.3 meters, below the ideal level of 107.5 meters. The dam’s water level was 102.25 meters at this time last year. The Aruvikkara dam, which delivers 320 MLD to its customers via PTP Nagar, Observatory, Peroorkada, and Manvila zones, is used to supply water to the city from the KWA-owned Peppara dam.

According to a senior KWA official, there is enough water in the Peppara dam as of Tuesday to last until the first week of June.