Jisha Surya
Thiruvananthapuram: The K Jayakumar commission, which probes into the controversial multiple pipe bursts on the eve of Attukal pongala, is puzzled about the unusual bursts even after conducting site inspection and hearings.
The panel will look into the possibilities of manipulation of valve and pressure variations, which create air entrapment in pipe. During the public hearing held at Aruvikkara on Thursday, Jayakumar, chairman of the panel, said external or internal reasons or a combination of both could have caused the bursts. The committee also expressed shock on the callous way the air valves are handled by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) at several locations. Jayakumar told TOI that it was expected to take more than two weeks to submit the report.
“I was aghast to see the callousness with which KWA handles such vital installations,” said Jayakumar. He specifically pointed to the valve near the MP Thankamma Stadium at Peroorkada. The KWA officials, who attended the hearing, admitted that they had used to lock the valve chamber earlier. But, the new cast iron covers of valve chambers do not have a lock and key.
Jayakumar and other panel members said it is important to have more security for public utility services. “Now, anybody could access it. Miscreants could do anything,” Jayakumar said. One of the suggestions during the public hearing was to provide identity card or uniform for KWA labourers. “Nobody knows whether it is KWA workers or anyone else who is working at the valve,” said Vellanad Vishwam, a contractor, who attended the hearing. Only a few people turned up for the public hearing conducted by the probe panel.
Maintaining that a sabotage attempt was above their scope of knowledge, the engineers association said that turbulent flow of water will create pressure variation and it would cause air entrapment of different types such as air column, dissolved air and air in dispersed state. They said that air valve could not control these entrapped air and its worst combination could cause multiple pipe bursts.
There was an allegation that the pump operators lacked proper qualification. “They operated two pumps instead of one,” said Aruvikkara Thankappan, former panchayat member.
The commission accepted the argument of the engineers association that the pipe bursts could have occurred almost simultaneously, but might have reported at different times.
Though there were repeated requests from the commission, people who attended the hearing spoke more of general issues related to KWA than specific reasons or hypothesis on the multiple pipe bursts on February 25. Issues such as rudeness of contractors, contractor-employee nexus, irresponsible behaviour of daily wage labourers of KWA, etc. were raised.
Parents of N S Suresh, assistant excise commissioner, who was suspended for defying collector’s order to give his tanker lorries for distributing water, too attended the public hearing. Suresh’s father Natarajan submitted a petition to the commission alleging police harassment on the issue.
Thiruvananthapuram: The K Jayakumar commission, which probes into the controversial multiple pipe bursts on the eve of Attukal pongala, is puzzled about the unusual bursts even after conducting site inspection and hearings.
The panel will look into the possibilities of manipulation of valve and pressure variations, which create air entrapment in pipe. During the public hearing held at Aruvikkara on Thursday, Jayakumar, chairman of the panel, said external or internal reasons or a combination of both could have caused the bursts. The committee also expressed shock on the callous way the air valves are handled by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) at several locations. Jayakumar told TOI that it was expected to take more than two weeks to submit the report.
“I was aghast to see the callousness with which KWA handles such vital installations,” said Jayakumar. He specifically pointed to the valve near the MP Thankamma Stadium at Peroorkada. The KWA officials, who attended the hearing, admitted that they had used to lock the valve chamber earlier. But, the new cast iron covers of valve chambers do not have a lock and key.
Jayakumar and other panel members said it is important to have more security for public utility services. “Now, anybody could access it. Miscreants could do anything,” Jayakumar said. One of the suggestions during the public hearing was to provide identity card or uniform for KWA labourers. “Nobody knows whether it is KWA workers or anyone else who is working at the valve,” said Vellanad Vishwam, a contractor, who attended the hearing. Only a few people turned up for the public hearing conducted by the probe panel.
Maintaining that a sabotage attempt was above their scope of knowledge, the engineers association said that turbulent flow of water will create pressure variation and it would cause air entrapment of different types such as air column, dissolved air and air in dispersed state. They said that air valve could not control these entrapped air and its worst combination could cause multiple pipe bursts.
There was an allegation that the pump operators lacked proper qualification. “They operated two pumps instead of one,” said Aruvikkara Thankappan, former panchayat member.
The commission accepted the argument of the engineers association that the pipe bursts could have occurred almost simultaneously, but might have reported at different times.
Though there were repeated requests from the commission, people who attended the hearing spoke more of general issues related to KWA than specific reasons or hypothesis on the multiple pipe bursts on February 25. Issues such as rudeness of contractors, contractor-employee nexus, irresponsible behaviour of daily wage labourers of KWA, etc. were raised.
Parents of N S Suresh, assistant excise commissioner, who was suspended for defying collector’s order to give his tanker lorries for distributing water, too attended the public hearing. Suresh’s father Natarajan submitted a petition to the commission alleging police harassment on the issue.
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