Three days after news of the cholera outbreak came out from the coastal regions in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is yet to wake up from its slumber. A press release issued by the Revenue and Health Departments had on Tuesday said that additional water supply had been provided by KWA in the cholera-hit coastal regions. However, when contacted, KWA officials denied this.
KWA MD Ashok Kumar Singh said that he was waiting for the report from KWA officials on the cholera outbreak in the coastal area. “The department will take necessary steps after reviewing the report. Currently, we are focusing on chlorination of water in the area. Steps are also being taken to avoid contamination of water. A decision on additional water supply will be taken only after studying the report, which will be filed today,” he told Express on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a senior KWA official at the Neyyatinkara division who is in charge of the water supply to the coastal regions said coastal people mostly depend on private water tankers for drinking water. “They have a distaste for the KWA water, which is treated with bleaching powder. They call it ‘marunnu vellam’ and use it for cleaning purposes only. They use water supplied by private tankers for drinking purpose. However, that might not be disinfected and will trigger spread of the disease,” the official said.
The KWA official said that there was no water connection at the house which first reported cholera infection. Three from the family, including two children, were affected at this house in Puthiyathura.
Shortage of pure drinking water, lack of toilets and, above all, the apathy of the authorities, have triggered the spread of disease in the coastal area.
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