Odisha, UNICEF to launch ‘Drink from Tap Mission’

Bhubaneswar: Moving a step ahead to achieve its goal of universal water supply coverage, the state government Friday signed a letter of understanding (LoU) with UNICEF to execute ‘Drink from Tap Mission’.

The LoU was signed at the Lok Seva Bhawan here in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Pratap Jena, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy and UNICEF Odisha chief Monika Nielsen.

Initially, the mission will be implemented in five areas of capital city and two locations of Puri town on a pilot basis. The government aims to complete the project in these two towns by March 2020.

Under this mission, safe drinking water will be provided round-the-clock to all households with full metering system, sources said.

“Investment in water is investment in health. Investment in health is investment in future. Providing quality drinking water to every household in the state is one of the top priorities of the government,” said Chief Minister.

He further said that investment in water is a critical layer of foundation to make Odisha a healthy society and eventually a productive state.
Provision of safe drinking water results in drastic reduction of diarrhea, and infant mortality. Hence, the government is spearheading several transformative initiatives to provide water to each household with a view to improving the lives of the people in urban areas, the Chief Minister stated.

H&UD secretary G Mathivathanan made a presentation on the journey of urban water supply in the state highlighting the activities and the achievements of the department during the past few years and also gave a roadmap for implementing the ‘Drink from Tap Mission’.

Over 1.20 lakh people belonging to 22,000 households in Puri and Bhubaneswar will benefit from the pilot project, he added.