Pipe burst in Aruvikkara; Govt institutes inquiry team

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the womenfolk of Thiruvananthapuram readies for the famous Attukal ponkala on Tuesday, the main pipe line supplying drinking water to the city burst around 5.30 pm on Monday forcing the state government to institute an inquiry by a four-member commission into the incident.

The pipe burst at four places in Vazhayila near Aruvikkara which prompted the authorities to temporarily stop the water supply to the city. The district collector and Water Authority officers informed the people that they should not worry as water meant for Attukal ponkala is not pumped from Aruvikkara.

The Chief Minister Oommen Chandy ordered a probe into the incident by a four-member team headed by Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar. Additional Director General of Police P. Chandrasekhar, Chief Technical Examiner of Kerala Water Authority Abraham Joseph and Chief Engineer of the Water Authority C. Supran will be the other members of the Commission. The pipeline supplying 36 million litres a day to the Attukal area had developed no fault and the two tanks fed by it had full storage.

The areas which will be affected by the pipe burst are Vellayambalam, Ulloor, Kesavadasapuram and Medical College. 50 tanker lorries have been arranged for supplying water to these areas. Chandy said that people in those areas could request water supply by dialing four telephones of the control room set up at Vellayambalam. The telephone numbers were 2322674, 9447976622, 8547638184 and 8547638181. Water tankers were being placed in advance at the Medical College Hospital.