Pipe bursts cause water supply disruption in Aluva

Kochi: Frequent pipe bursts have disrupted water supply in several parts of the city and suburbs. The dilapidated old pipelines in places like Aluva are causing frequent bursts, leading to disruptions in supply.Water supply to several places, including Aluva district hospital, was disrupted a few days back following repair works. Now, a pipe burst near Mahilalayam area on Aluva-Perumbavoor route is causing disruptions in water supply in several places. "We are conducting the repair works and expect that it can be completed without much delay," a Kerala Water Authority (KWA) official said. A couple of days back, another pipe located a few metres away from the current location was also damaged. "We have a project to replace the old, dilapidated pipes in the town with new ones under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme. We are unable to start the work as the road-owning agencies are reluctant to grant permission to dig up the roads to lay the pipes," an official said. According to the residents of Pettah, KWA is unable to address the water scarcity in the area despite the issue being brought to the notice of the authorities. "We took up the issue with the KWA officials, district collector and corporation authorities several times. Several meetings to explore ways to resolve the issue were convened by the district collector. Still, the issue remains unresolved," said V P Chandran, councillor from Vyttila. "Following the partial collapse of a water storage tank at Thammanam in Nov 2025, supply to our area has been disrupted. Earlier, pumping from there could be done continuously. After the partial collapse, the storage capacity of the tank has been reduced, and the frequency of pumping was also reduced. So, water pumped from Thammanam couldn't reach tail-end areas like Pettah," Chandran added. Reduction in pumping from the pumphouse in Muvattupuzha at Pazhoor, from where water is being drawn to the treatment plant at Maradu, is also affecting the supply to several parts of the city.