Half of Kerala's drinking water schemes defunct as drought looms
- Only 44% drinking water projects are functional in the state
- More than half of the projects are facing shortage of sufficient water at the source
- Of the functional ones only 27.7% projects have 24-hour water distribution facility
FollowThe drinking water scenario in Kerala is rather alarming with the impending drought and depleting ground water. Most drinking water projects in the state have left the people high and dry owing to lack of maintenance and shortage of water at the source.
An investigation by Asianet News revealed that 66% drinking water projects in Kerala are not functional denying adequate water supply to its people. Majority of them also lack water treatment plants to ensure quality of water distributed to the public. According to Kerala Water Authority norms, water shall be distributed through pipeline only after ensuring its quality by testing at plants.
A study conducted by Directorate of Economics and Statistics on the status of potable water projects in the state had earlier found that 57% projects are not functioning for the last five years. Of the 12,109 water schemes, only 3,212 have water treatment plant while 8, 897 lack it. It was also found that 50% of drinking water projects are facing a shortage of sufficient water at the source.
Asianet News discovered that the issue has become severe over the months and now 66% drinking water projects are non-functional, either owing to shortage of water at source or non-functioning of machinery due to lack of maintenance.
The survey conducted by Directorate of Economics and Statistics also found that of the 32, 568 drinking water schemes implemented only 44.5% is functioning. Palakkad has the highest number of projects, 16% of the total schemes implemented.
The survey also observed that 27.7% projects had 24-hour water distribution while for 47.3% distribution was available only for a few hours per day.
