‘Drink From Tap’: First Indian city to provide 24/7 quality drinking water

Odisha: A 24/7 quality drinking water supply was launched in Puri on July 26 as part of the ‘Drink From Tap’ initiative, which was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an official said. The initiative to provide water that meets the standards of IS 10500 will benefit the city’s 2.5 lakh residents and 2 crore tourists who visit the holy place every year, he said.

‘Providing clean drinking water to every household was a transformational project and a step toward making Puri a world-class heritage city’, Patnaik said when he inaugurated the project via videoconference. Patnaik continued, ‘Puri residents, tourists and pilgrims can now drink water from taps throughout the city, whether at home or from drinking fountains. It has always been my dream to provide piped water to every household in Odisha, and now it is becoming a reality’.

As part of an official release, the state set up 120 water fountains along the Grand Road and other hotspots to accommodate pilgrims. By providing safe drinking water, the state will prevent the use of three crore plastic bottles, avoiding 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste and reducing its carbon footprint. According to the release, the initiative is set to provide drinking water to every household across all 114 local authorities in Odisha, including slum households. Puri became the first city in India to implement state-of-the-art technology, which allows people to drink clean water 24/7 from the tap, according to the statement.

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Aside from Puri, the mission has also been successful in 16 other cities, covering 40 lakh people. A technology-based, real-time surveillance system ensures stringent quality control by the state government. There will be a quick response team, comprised of mobile crews, to address leakage, water quality, pressure supply, and other issues as soon as possible, according to a press release.

Public LCD screens will display real-time water quality data to ensure public confidence and a mass shift from bottled water to tap water. ‘Jalsaathis’, who are women from self-help groups, have been hired and trained to read meters, collect revenue, conduct water quality tests and sensitize people.