The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has warned that water supply will be disrupted in parts of Kochi city on May 28 and 29. The regions which will be affected include Ernakulam South and nearby places including Panampilly Nagar, KP Vallon Road, Kochu Kadavanthra, Anamthuruthi, Kasturba Nagar, Ravipuram, Perumanoor and Thevara. In a statement released on Tuesday, KWA advised the residents in the region to collect and store required water.
The supply will be disrupted due to the repair works to be done on the 900 mm water pipe that takes water from Aluva water treatment plant to the pump house in Perumanoor. Kerala Water Authority's laboratory in Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts, which does quality assessments, recently received the accreditation of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), KWA said in a statement.
Considering the COVID-19 induced lockdown, KWA has also announced that consumers can pay water bills online by registering their mobile numbers. Though the online payment facility had been available earlier, the facility now allows people to easily register and pay bills. "By registering a mobile number, the consumer number gets linked with the phone number and then 'QuickPay' portal can be used to pay the bill," KWA said in a Facebook post. By registering a mobile number, details of the water bill will also be available on the mobile phone via SMS.
Meanwhile, 3,063 new people tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday in Ernakulam district. Considering that the triple lockdown imposed in the district has been lifted, district authorities have announced that lockdown regulations would be made more stringent in various local bodies. An order concerning the same will soon be released by the Health Department.
In the statement released after conducting a review meeting to assess the COVID-19 situation in the district, it has also been directed that regulations in fishing harbours in the district be tightened. "If not, the harbours will have to be shut down," it said.