T’puram: More than 500 families in the Nettayam-Cherupalode area of Vattiyoorkavu have been without drinking water for over 10 days, with an unidentified blockage in the existing pipeline leaving residents struggling to meet their daily needs.Families living along Greenland Road in Nettayam ward said the shortage had affected cooking, bathing, washing clothes and other essential activities. Residents said they had approached authorities several times, but the issue remained unresolved.Water was supplied through tanker trucks to the locality as a temporary measure.Residents, however, said the tanker supply did not meet their daily needs and urged the authorities to complete the pipeline work at the earliest.The locality receives water from the tank at Nettayam Jn through the PTP section of KWA. Residents said the shortage had caused particular hardship to children and elderly people. With most houses built on three- to four-cent plots, digging wells is not a practical option for many families.Following complaints, the councillor has arranged tanker trucks to supply water to the locality. However, residents said the quantity supplied was insufficient even for a day’s requirements.Nettayam councillor R S Yamuna said the locality had only one or two houses earlier, but the number of houses had increased considerably. “All these houses have taken connections from the existing small-diameter pipeline. When everyone uses water at the same time, the flow reduces,” she said.According to a KWA source, a blockage had recently developed in the pipeline. Though officials inspected the line several times, the obstruction could not be identified. The inability to trace the blockage has emerged as the main issue affecting water supply to the locality.“Work is now under way to lay a four-inch pipeline in the area. The water shortage will be resolved once the work is completed,” the source said.
