Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday inaugurated ‘Sujal-Drink From Tap Mission’ for 24 hour potable water supply to the residents of Cuttack.
Instead of groundwater, water from the Mahanadi river will be treated and supplied to the people of Cuttack, the chief minister said.
The facility, built at a cost of Rs 790 crore, will benefit 1.4 lakh households.
The 24×7 water supply will now be available to people in two zones under the Cuttack Municipal Corporation area and it will be extended to the entire city by December 2023.
Inaugurating the project via video-conferencing, Patnaik said all families in 60 towns of the state have been provided with pure drinking water.
The facility will soon be extended to all 114 towns.
The chief minister said the ‘Drink From Tap’ mission is not only being emulated in India, but several developing countries.
“Our effort to ensure availability of pure drinking water is important for the good health of the people,” he said.
Patnaik also inaugurated three water treatment plants, constructed at a cost of Rs 430 crore, under the jurisdiction of Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), Pratap Nagari, and Jagatpur respectively.
In February last year, the Odisha government’s ‘Drink From Tap Mission’ under the 5T (Teamwork, transparency, technology, timely completion leading to transformation) initiative won the ‘Award of Excellence in the 18th CSI SIG e-Governance Award 2020 for smart water management in Puri city among 178 nominations received from across the country.
The CEO of United Kingdom-based Water Aids, Tim Wainwright had also lauded the Odisha government for its initiative, launched on October 13, 2021, to ensure quality tapped drinking water for over 1.5 million people in more than 15 urban areas.
PTI
