Netsol Water Solutions

KOCHI: The district administration will soon permit water tanker owners to supply untreated water to restaurants and apartments having proper treatment facilities. The move is aimed at redressing the city's water crisis. "Separate permits will be issued to tanker owners soon to supply untreated water. However, they will be allowed to supply water only to those apartments that have water treatment facilities. Permission will also be given to tankers to draw water from the Periyar river," said district collector P I Sheik Pareeth. He had convened a meeting on Friday to chalk out a plan in this regard. He discussed the matter with food safety officials and other departments concerned. The decision was taken after apartments and restaurants in the city experienced acute water shortage. The supply through tankers had decreased drastically over the past few days with the drying up of wells and other water sources. The closure of two water sources had further aggravated the c

KOCHI: Lunch was not a very sumptuous affair for employees and the public in general who depend on city eateries on Tuesday. In fact, many had no choice at all as a majority of restaurants in the city downed their shutters due to water shortage. Around 60% of the 1,800 restaurants, including small and medium ones, remained closed till 3pm. According to the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), the eateries were left with no option after water supply was disrupted since Sunday midnight owing to the maintenance work being carried out by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). The association said there was so much confusion over water supply since the repair work was earlier postponed and later not communicated clearly by KWA, resulting in restaurants failing to store enough water. "Restaurants had no option but to close down. The crisis became worse as water tankers were not allowed to enter the city during day time. If the authorities had given consent, the crisis could ha