Water supply to the capital was hit on Wednesday after the main transmission pipeline bringing water from Aruvikkara to the city burst at Vazhayila.

The 1,200-mm pre-stressed concrete pipe ruptured around 7.30 am, spewing water at a great height and flooding the Peroorkada-Vazhayila Road.

Water supply to Medical College, Statue, Vanchiyoor, Chackai, Palayam, Mannanthala and Kudappanakkunnu areas was disrupted following the incident.

 The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) launched a major trouble-shooting exercise immediately afterwards. Water supply is expected to be restored by Thursday morning, KWA Chief Engineer (Distribution - South) Sreekumaran Nair said.

The leak is being plugged by replacing the broken portion of the concrete pipe with a mild-steel section. Both sides of the pipe are being joined by welding. The supply will be restored only after the welded portions cool.

 With water supply hit, the City Corporation despatched water tankers to the affected areas. Filling points for the tankers were arranged at the PTP Nagar reservoir and the Observatory Hill reservoir.

The pipe-burst caused traffic snarls for hours with the water flooding the Peroorkada-Vazhayila Road.

Traffic regulations were already in place in the region as part of laying the new Aruvikkara-Peroorkada transmission pipeline. This further added to the traffic problems on Wednesday.

 The burst, in fact, occurred near the area where the pipe replacement work of the KWA was going on. Water flowed into the pits dug for the laying of pipes, disrupting the work.

Meters being Replaced

T’Puram: The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is replacing the defunct water meters as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for the City Corporation for free. Those who wish to replace meters have to apply to the JNNURM Water Project Division at Observatory Hills before June 25, an official release said.  Meters in the city, Vattiyoorkavu, Sreekariyam and Kudappanakkunnu areas are being replaced in this manner.

Pipe-replacement Work on Track

T’Puram: The Kerala Water Authority has completed more than half of the pipe-replacement work between Aruvikkara and Peroorkada. The project to replace the old pre-stressed concrete (PSC) pipes with mild steel (MS) pipes is expected to end the menace of repeated pipe-bursts.

 “The work is going on. We have time till November. But we hope to complete it before that. More than 50 per cent of the work is over already. The only problem is with the interference of the monsoon. The rain is adversely affecting the work,” said KWA Chief Engineer Sreekumaran Nair.