Amid reports about water-level in rivers and the ground becoming precarious, the authorities have embarked on a contingency plan to tackle the impending drought situation in Kottayam.
According to officials with the Irrigation Department, plans are afoot to construct five temporary bunds across the Meenachil River to prevent intrusion of saline water from Vembanad.
“The State government has accorded a financial sanction of ₹65 lakh for constructing the bunds, which will come up along the downstream on the western side of Kottayam Town,” said a senior official.
According to him, water-levels in Manimalayar and Meenachil rivers, two major drinking water sources in the district, have already hit the bottom.
“The river beds of these water bodies, which together feed most part of the district, had gone dry by the end of December itself. Taking a serious note of the situation, directions have been issued to complete the annual maintenance works of all regulators and check dams at the earliest so as to store maximum quantity of water at the intake points.” the official added.
Officials with the Ground Water Department said that the drop in river water levels also has a significant impact on the ground water in the region.
The District officer of the Ground Water Department has sought requirements of the various local bodies regarding the bore-wells, hand pumps and minor irrigation projects.
Further, directions have been issued to the Assistant Executive Engineers at Kottayam, Pala and Ponkunnam offices to ensure efficient distribution of drinking water in the coming summer.
The situation in the western parts including Kumarakom is not rosy either, where the access to clean drinking water has always been a problem.
Special team
The Kerala Water Authority has constituted a special team to spot the leakages in the pipeline network and carry out the repair works. The Department plans to activate more vending points with the progress of the season based on requirement from the various local bodies.
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