After Puri, ‘drink-from-tap’ facility in Bhubaneswar soon

Bhubaneswar: Residents of the capital city here will soon have access to clean drinking water from tap round-the-clock. For this, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) will spend Rs 20 core under Smart City Mission.

The initiative will help every household in the city get access to water from their residential taps that can be used for drinking and cooking purposes without additional filtration. In first phase, the Drink from Tap, funded by BSCL, will be made available in Saheed Nagar, Satya Nagar, Kharvela Nagar, Bapujee Nagar and Ashok Nagar.

Drinking contaminated water causes malnutrition and frequent spells of gastrointestinal sickness. The initiative will lessen health hazards to individuals caused by water pollution resulting from inconsistent delivery, said an official.

Moreover, home investments in overhead water tanks or underground reservoirs, motor pumps, and RO-based water filters will be eliminated. This will aid in the 100% metering of domestic water connections in order to decrease non-revenue water. This will aid in the adoption of cutting-edge management and technology, he added.

Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) will implement the project on behalf of BSCL and funds to the tune of Rs 10 crores have already been transferred to WATCO to start the work.

BMC Commissioner and BSCL CEO Sanjay Kumar Singh said the initiative will help eliminate 400 tonnes of plastic waste in the temple town. Earlier last year, the facility was launched in Puri.