Faced with an acute drinking water crisis, residents of Poonithur have intensified their agitation and warned of a round-the-clock strike if the matter is not resolved within a week. The other day, they staged a protest outside the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) office in Vyttila.
According to residents of Division 46, Poonithura South has been facing severe water shortage for the past two years and the situation was worsened by the partial collapse of the Thammanam reservoir last year.
VP Chandran, councilor representing Vyttila, said more than 600 families were affected and called for an early resolution of the problem. “The area has been facing water shortage for a long time, but the crisis has worsened after the partial collapse of the Thammanam storage tank. If anything happens to the second chamber of the tank, the entire area would be deprived of water. Currently, water is being supplied by tanker trucks, but this is not a permanent solution. Moreover, large tankers cannot pass through the pocket roads, so they supply several interior areas with water,” he said.
According to Sankaranarayanan KS, secretary of Mukkottil Temple Road Residents Association, Poonithura, the problem is not water scarcity but management of existing resources. “These are regions without water supply. As a result, residents are forced to rely on tanker trucks. Moreover, it is especially difficult for the elderly to get water from tankers,” he said.
In a meeting on January 13, District Collector G. Priyanka directed the authorities to take steps to solve the water shortage in the region. “Despite the assurance that the issue would be resolved within 15 days, no action was taken on the ground,” he added.
The affected regions include Gandhi Square, Jawahar Road, Mukkottil Temple Road and Ayyankali Road.
Meanwhile, sources in KWA said the issue could be resolved by providing a new intake from the Petta pump line to the Poonithura pipeline. This includes digging a stretch of NH 85 at Pettah, which requires approval from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Incidentally, the report and sketches submitted to KWA earlier were returned citing technical issues. “We have again sent the required documents to NHAI and once we get clearance, the work can begin. Besides, we have to provide a link at Poonnurunni, between the pumping pipeline from Maradu power station and the Petta pumping pipeline. This requires funding of around ₹ 20,000 crore and is subject to government approval,” sources said.
Published – 08 Feb 2026 19:59 IST
