Water crisis sparks political row in capital as MLA slams Mayor, alleges mismanagement

Thiruvananthapuram: The ongoing drinking water crisis in the capital triggered a sharp political confrontation, with former mayor and MLA V K Prasanth accusing the present BJP-led corporation council of mismanaging the situation and evading responsibility.Addressing a news conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, Prasanth alleged that mayor, V V Rajesh, is attempting to shift the blame for the crisis onto previous administrations instead of taking corrective action. "The mayor cannot run away from responsibility. The present council is trying to portray this as a legacy issue, but the scale of the current drinking water crisis is unprecedented. City residents have never faced such a situation before," he said. Prasanth also accepted the mayor's public challenge for a debate, stating that he is ready to engage at any time and venue decided by Rajesh. He further announced that LDF would launch strong protests against what he termed failures of the current administration in addressing key civic issues, including drinking water shortages, stray dog attacks and waste management. Highlighting past initiatives, Prasanth said the corporation played a proactive role in resolving a similar water crisis in 2017 through coordinated intervention led by engineers. He also pointed out that during his tenure as mayor, a second water treatment plant at Aruvikkara was commissioned using funds from AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme, which continues to supply water to the city. Criticising the present administration's handling of waste management, he noted that a systematic mechanism for post-Attukal Pongala cleanup, introduced during an earlier council, functioned effectively for years without complaints but failed this time. He alleged that Rajesh deflected responsibility by blaming the temple authorities. Prasanth further claimed that Thiruvananthapuram earned national recognition for its waste segregation system, being among the few cities to collect nearly 20 categories of waste and receiving multiple central govt awards for sanitation. "These achievements cannot be erased," he said. The MLA also criticised the mayor's stance of placing the burden of the water crisis solely on Kerala Water Authority (KWA), arguing that the corporation has both the mandate and capacity to intervene. He expressed concern over reported calls to obstruct KWA officials, warning that such actions would worsen the crisis. Prasanth also called for a detailed probe into recent disturbances at Nettayam, alleging attempts to disrupt communal harmony and questioning the adequacy of police intervention.
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