Around 16 lakh new water connections will be provided in the State as part of the government’s 100-day action plan, said Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty. Inaugurating the second phase of Mylam-Thalavoor drinking water project through videoconferencing, he added that drinking water would be available in all households in the panchayat with the completion of the project envisaged to address the water scarcity in the eastern parts of the district. “According to recent studies, shortage of safe drinking water can cause nearly 13 water-borne diseases. This project is being implemented to ensure that the public has access to potable water,” he said.
₹18 crore from KIIFB
Works on laying pipelines would be completed first for which ₹18 crore sanctioned by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), by including the project in National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), will be used. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM ) has allotted ₹16 crore for further works and the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) will supervise the construction. A water tank with a capacity of 6.4 million litres has already installed at Thettikuzhy in Mylam and ₹ 9 crore has been spent for setting up the tank, well and associated works. Panchayat Kudumbashree had raised ₹6.4 lakh for purchasing 8 cents for land for installing the tank. Twenty wards in the panchayat that are currently facing severe drinking water shortage are expected to benefit from the project. P. Aisha Potty, MLA, presided over the function. Mylam village panchayat president Girija Muraleedharan and KWA superintending engineer S. Santhosh Kumar also attended the event.
