For the second time in four days, water supply to several parts of
the city was hit after a joint leak was detected on one of the water
mains from Aruvikkara on Tuesday.

 The leak was detected on the
1,200-mm pre-stressed concrete pipe, the line infamous for its frequent
bursts, near Karakulam, and pumping at Aruvikkara was stopped by around
2.30 pm, a senior KWA official said.

 “It is a joint leak only and
there has been no pipe-burst, but we won’t know the extent of damage
till we excavate the area,” said the official, when contacted on Tuesday
evening.

 If possible, the repair work would begin on Tuesday
night, else it would be deferred for Wednesday morning, the official
said. Meanwhile, pumping of water from Aruvikkara was stopped throughout
Tuesday night.

 The pipeline in question is the main distribution
line carrying water from Aruvikkara reservoir, the city’s primary
potable water source, to the overhead tank in Observatory Hill. The
disruption in water supply would hit high-level areas of the city,
including Vellayambalam, Sasthamangalam and surrounding regions, Statue
and surrounding areas, Pattoor, Kumarapuram and Medical College,
officials said.

 It was only three days ago, on Saturday, that a
crack on a 500-mm high-density polyethylene pipeline near Kripa Theatre
in the city had led the Power House Road to be flooded. The consequent
repair works, which lasted almost the entire day, had caused water
supply disruption to the southern low-lying areas of Manacaud,
Kamaleshwaram, Poonthura, Valiathura, Beemapally and Kovalam. 

 It
is to get respite from the frequent leaks and bursts along the 1,200-mm
transmission line that a new mild-steel pipe is being laid to replace
the present pre-stressed concrete one. So far, over 4 km of the proposed
9.7-km new pipe has been laid.