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Water crisis hits coastal Kerala after tsunami

A woman filling a container with tap water in a small village in Kochi.

     Cochin (Kerala): A severe drinking water crisis has arisen in the coastal areas of Kerala after the December 26 tsunami wave attack. Though the ground water table has risen in the area, the water is not fit for drinking as sea water has got mixed with it. Besides, drinking water supply has been restored in very few places, while other places have to make do with water tankers. Supplying clear water to the tsunami victims has become a top priority but in many worst hit regions there is shortage of potable water.

     "The government is not able to restore the situation, many tube wells have been destroyed during the killer wave and few remaining are in a bad condition. The government is saying it would solve the problem soon but till then they should supply proper drinking water through tankers," said Sanyal, a village council member. The government. is consulting experts to solve the drinking water crisis and experts hope that the drinking water crisis will be solved soon. "The only way is to set tube wells in the area for an immediate water supply. There are two or three tube wells at present, which are functioning.

     Now the experts from the department will go there to make a survey of places that have good quality ground water and we hope that the water crisis will be solved soon," state minister for water resources, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, said. As per existing estimates, 170 villages along the Kerala coast were hit by the tsunami and about 400,000 families were affected. The December 26 tsunami has left nearly 300,000 dead or missing around the Indian Ocean from Somalia to Thailand. In India, over 16,000 people died or were presumed dead.
- Feb 5, 2005

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