Areas at the Kochi end parched as water crisis deepens

Residents say the water crisis has worsened over the past few months despite repeated statements by the Kerala Water Authority.

Tail areas in Kochi continue to face severe water shortage and residents are set to protest if the situation persists. The situation has worsened over the past few months and according to the residents, there has been no solution despite the residents submitting representations to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA).

KA Suresh Babu, a resident of Valappilkadavu Road in Division 47, said the area has been facing water shortage for the past two years, with the situation worsening in recent months.

“We now rely on private tankers. We spend between ₹ 800 and ₹ 1,000 every week for water from tankers. More than 100 houses have been affected,” Mr Suresh Babu said, adding that if the situation continues, residents will start an agitation.

KS Sankaranarayanan, secretary of the Mukkottil Temple Road Residents Association in Poonithura, said the only time the area got consistent water supply was before the elections. “During the last council elections, there were no interruptions. This means that water can be supplied without any obstacles,” he added.

Meanwhile, residents have complained about the lack of alternative sources of water, saying they are forced to rely on borehole water. Kimig George, an IT professional based at Darusallam Lane near SRM Road, said families in the locality have been facing an acute water crisis since July.

“The tankers cannot be relied upon because they are always delayed. We are building a borehole. The water is not safe but we have no choice. We only get water from the power company once a week and we rely on that and cans for drinking purposes,” Mr George said.

Philomina Mohandas, president of the north area unit of the Ernakulam District Residents Association Summit Council, said that water supply has been severely affected in areas like SRM Road, Pachalam, Vaduthala and Kannachan Thodu in Ayyappankavu.

“After the collapse of the Thammanam reservoir, no new reservoir was built. But even after the partial collapse of the reservoir, these areas continued to receive water without much disruption. What has changed in the last four months to cause such an acute crisis?” asked Mrs. Mohandas. She said that hundreds of families are facing a lack of drinking water.

Division 18 councilor Jalaja S. Acharya said that except for a few houses, the entire division was facing an acute water crisis. Meanwhile, Augustin Sebastian, who represents Division 15, said the water supply network in Kochi has been completely disrupted.

“After the partial collapse of the Thammanam reservoir, no alternative solution was made. Apart from the houses near the main pipeline, all others were affected,” Mr Sebastian said.

According to sources in the KWA, efforts are underway to address the water shortage. “We have seen an increase in consumption in the last few months. Moreover, the pressure has been affected as now only one section of the Thammanam reservoir is functional. This has hit the bottom. Once the storage tank at Kaloor is commissioned, we plan to draw water from this tank,” they added.

KWA sources added that the water supplied to Kochi is insufficient and that the problem can only be solved by setting up a 190 MLD water treatment tank.

Published – 14 Oct 2026 07:00 IST