The multiple bursts in the water transmission line linking the Aruvikkara reservoir with the city, over the last 15 days, has disrupted supply and has left public fuming. The latest instance was reported on Wednesday morning but thankfully did not cause the kind of havoc wreaked earlier.

What surprises is audacity of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) to continue to ‘pressure-test’ consumer patience, if not so much as to assure water through its dilapidated pipeline.

The main Government hospitals ran dry when the pipes developed unprecedented serial cracks on February 25.

Crucially enough, it also happened on the eve of Attukal Ponkala , the Hindu religious ritual exclusively for women, one of the largest such congregations.

Fortunately, the festival area, which extended to a radius of five km around the Attukal temple, did not witness serious disruption. Several tankers were pressed into service. But it was clearly a make-or-break situation for the administration, so much so the Chief Minister promptly went into a huddle with his Cabinet colleagues.

The Cabinet did not rule out sabotage, and went on to declare a probe. The pipe burst on Tuesday evening has happened even before the probe could start.

Meanwhile, Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph inspected the ongoing work for laying new mild steel (MS) transmission mainline.

Work on the 9.7-km new MS pipeline to replace the existing pre-stressed concrete had started on January 21.

Joseph expected the probe panel, led by former Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar, to come out with its findings on the February 25 serial cracks soon. The PSC pipe has a maximum lifespan of 10 years and the existing main had outlived its age. The MS pipeline would settle for good the frequent water supply disruption the city has had to live with over the past couple of years, Joseph said.

>vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in

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