Residents of many localities in Poonithura have been facing an acute drinking water crisis ever since the water storage tank at Thammanam burst.
Although the area was already experiencing water shortage due to its location at the end of the supply network, the bursting of the reservoir worsened the situation and left more areas affected, residents said.
The affected regions include Ayyankali Road, Jawahar Road, Subrahmanya Temple Road and Mukkottil Temple Road in Poonithura. Pumping to these areas is done from Thammanam water storage tank. “Ever since the reservoir burst, the water shortage has further worsened and more areas have been affected. Along with the southern part of Poonithura, the northern regions have also been affected,” said Sankaranarayanan KS, secretary of the Mukkottil Temple Road Residents Association.
The water supply was affected after the side wall of one of the chambers of the Kerala Water Authority’s two-chamber water storage tank at Thammanam collapsed. Water is currently brought in in tankers to address the shortage. “However, not everyone can rely on taking water from cisterns according to their timing. Most households have old and sick people at home during the day,” he added.
According to KWA sources, the water shortage, which usually occurs at the tailings, worsened after the tank burst as the supply was interrupted for three days. A permanent solution to the water shortage is to replace the old pipeline with a bigger one that can bring more water, KWA authorities said.
“Right now we are trying to unclog the air valves in the pipeline. This will be done in the pipeline along the flats in these regions within two days and once the trapped air is cleared, the supply would resume as it was. But these are only short-term solutions and the long-term one is to replace the old pipeline at Petta Junction with a larger diameter pipeline,” the sources added.
Published – 18 Nov 2025 20:40 IST
