Baker cries foul after plant closure over water sc*rcity
Thika's bakery Broadways Ltd has halted operations following an acute water shortage over the last four days.
The management was forced to shut operations on Monday after the Thika Water and Sewerage Company (THIWASCO) due to a burst pipe that happened shortly after the firm started rationing the commodity late last week.
Broadways Chief Executive Bimal Shah said the company has incurred losses running into millions of shillings as it has been unable to bake bread during this peak period of the Christmas festivities.
"The company has so far lost close to 10 million shillings at this time when the demand for bread is at the peak. We have also grounded our distribution trucks and most of our workers are now idle," Shah said and added that there were suspicions this could be sabotage. 
However, Thiwasco managing director Moses Kinya explained that the matter was made worse by a broken six-inch pipe which took longer than expected to repair.
"This is not sabotage as claimed. We have been working to repair the damaged pipe for nearly two days because we could not get some of the fittings in time, but we will fix the problem, in the shortest time possible," Kinya said.
He also said the rationing in the town will continue since the water produced by the company could not match the growing population and asked consumers to be patient.
"Even as we ration our water we shall ensure there is enough supply to factories, schools and other installations over the festive season and as the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.
At the competitor's Kenblest Bakery, operations were normal despite the rationing and the management said they have invested heavily in storage.
