Waterlogged Kuttanad thirsts for drinking water
Dennis Marcus Mathew
| Water in the Vembanad lake and Pampa river turns saline |
CRISIS: A boat with water tanks lies idle in the Kainakary region of Kuttanad in Alappuzha,where water shortage has worsened after these boats stopped service for the last two days.
ALAPPUZHA: Even as the threat of floods that loomed over the water-logged Kuttanad seems to have receded, the people are now up against another recurrent scourge. Kuttanad is facing an acute shortage of drinking water, even for its cattle.
The water shortage, an issue that plagues the region round the year, gets severe in the monsoon with the rivers that flow through here and the Vembanad lake turning totally undependable for even a drop of pure water. The drinking water crisis is accentuated by the threat of water-borne diseases as well, particularly cholera.
This is apart from other vector-borne and contagious diseases including Japanese Encephalitis, rat fever and dengue that have already been reported from the area.
In May 2009, there was an outbreak of cholera after sewage seeped into drinking water pipelines.
Different surveys in recent years, including by the Health department, have found dangerous levels of coliform bacteria, including E.Coli, in a majority of water sources in Kuttanad, but shockingly, remedial or preventive measures have been little, according to the residents. Repair and maintenance of pipelines are still to be done in a majority of areas, while supply of water through existing networks are not regular and not happening in several remote areas as well.
Water supply stopped
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