ALAPPUZHA: Why would anyone be jailed for bathing? Most certainly, if that happens inside an overhead water tank and ends up blocking the supply of water to more than 50,000 people!

That’s precisely what three intoxicated youths did at Pallippuram in Alappuzha on Saturday evening. The revelry has landed them behind bars for 14 days.

According to the police, the trio — K Jayaraj (27) of Panavally, Athul Krishna (27) and Yadukrishnan (25), the last two from Thaikkattussery—sneaked into the 24-metre-high tank located on the Kerala Water Authority premises at Vellimuttam in Pallippuram panchayat around 6.30 pm.

“When we reached the site, the youths were above the tank. We brought them down and recorded their arrest,” an officer with the Cherthala police station said.

The Cherthala First Class Judicial Magistrate Court remanded them for 14 days for illegally climbing atop a public water tank and entering the drinking water supply system, the officer said.

“The accused accessed the tank through the manhole located on top of the structure and entered the drinking water stored inside. Local residents who noticed the act promptly alerted the police,” the officer said.

KWA suffers Rs 1.4-lakh loss

Given the breach and the potential contamination, the authorities were forced to drain the entire tank, disrupting the drinking water supply to several parts of the panchayat.

“The tank has a capacity of 16 lakh litres. The entire water was drained. Drinking water supply to more than 50,000 people was disrupted for two days. The incident has raised concerns over public safety, hygiene, and need for enhanced security around essential public infrastructure,” a KWA official said.

A preliminary estimate put the loss the water authority suffered at Rs 1.4 lakh. “The exact loss will be ascertained in the coming days,” the official said.

The tank was chlorinated on Monday and distribution resumed by evening after water samples were tested, the official added.