Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) initiative to provide drinking water through temporary kiosks during the summer has come under criticism due to poor maintenance and unavailability of water at many locations across the city.

To quench the thirst of pedestrians, BMC had set up 114 water kiosks across 67 wards, assigning their operation to various NGOs. The civic body is spending around ₹25.50 lakh monthly for the three-month project. Each kiosk is supposed to have three earthen pots and drinking glasses, and serve clean drinking water from 9 AM to 3 PM daily.

However, on the ground, the situation is far from ideal. Many kiosks remain dry most of the time, with water pots often lying empty and uncovered. The kiosks are poorly maintained, and cleanliness is being largely ignored, leading to public resentment. Stray animals like dogs and cattle have been seen lying around the kiosks, further highlighting the unhygienic conditions.

Earlier, self-help groups managed these kiosks and were paid ₹400 per day per kiosk. Now, NGOs are being paid ₹25,000 per kiosk per month, yet most of them are reportedly failing to deliver. Corporators have raised questions over how the NGOs were selected without proper discussion in the BMC health Committee or approval in the Corporation meeting, as required by procedure.

Senior corporator Nrupesh Nayak voiced his concerns, questioning the transparency in awarding the responsibility. He pointed out that tenders were not floated properly, and arbitrary decisions were made, leading to chaos in the management of the water kiosks.

Despite BMC’s guidelines mandating proper water supply and sanitation at the kiosks, most of the NGOs have allegedly failed to comply.