Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 28: The public health engineering organisation (PHEO) has decided to install water meters in each household in the city.
The automatic meters, which are based on radio frequency, are aimed at curtailing wastage of water by residents. The sophisticated meters cannot be tampered with, claimed an official.
A few water meters have already been installed in some commercial establishments on an experimental basis to assess the viability of project.
Trials of the meters are underway and after this the project would be implemented across Bhubaneswar.
“In the first phase, meters will be installed in all commercial and institutional establishments,” a source said.
The amount of water consumed by each household can be tracked with accuracy, said PHEO superintending engineer (Bhubaneswar circle) Chittaranajn Jena. “The meter reading will be taken in the same manner as the electricity reading,” he said.
More than 65,000 water connections have been given by PHEO in the city, which witnesses an annual increase of 10,000 connections.
PHEO is providing potable water at a very nominal rate in contrast to packaged drinking water that costs around `20 per litre in the market.
The government has a prescribed rate of `12.41 per 1,000 litres of water from commercial establishments while it charges `3.71 for the same quantity from domestic users. The rate increases by 5 per cent every year.
