The city's drinking water crisis eased on Saturday with the Aluva KWA station resuming uninterrupted supply for several hours starting from 8.30 am in the morning.
The pumping of water from the Aluva station of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) was stopped from 3 am to 8.30 am on Saturday owing to increased salinity of the Periyar. But with the KSEB swinging into action on the directions of power minister, Aryadan Muhammed and the KSEB chairman to increase power production from the existing four hours to eight, the flow of water increased in the river, lowering its salinity and allowing its use for drinking once again.
But environmentalists flayed the authorities for not taking action to prevent pollution of the river water.
“No one is paying attention to this. The saline water mixes with the already polluted water above the Pathalam bund where industries are situated before it reaches the Muppathadam and Aluva pump houses. The authorities don't seem to care that people are getting polluted water to drink, ” deplored Mr Zakeer, convener of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi, noting that the KWA too was testing the water only for salinity and not for contamination.
N. Ramachandran, secretary of the Association for Environmental Prote-ction, warned that heavy metals like iron, zinc and cadmium were being discharged into the river by industries and drinking it could lead to heart and renal diseases as well as cancer.