Number of ‘Jal Chhatras’ to be increased and placed at strategic locations
Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a major re-planning and reworking of the water ATMs, free water kiosks and RO plants here to counter the rising temperatures in the city.
Speaking to the media, the BMC Commissioner Samarth Verma stated that the measures adopted each year will be repeated and if required, the number of ‘Jal Chhatras’ or kiosks will be increased. The BMC last year had opened 88 such kiosks.
“A meeting with the NGOs and associations was held and locations for setting up drinking water facilities have also been decided. The water ATMs in particular will be revamped that have been lying dysfunctional,” Verma added.
The water ATMs have been subjected to major criticism since its launch. Initiated in 2014, the city got its first water ATM at Jharana Sahi in 2016 along with 39 others. The numbers rose to about 100 at the time of the Hockey Men’s World Cup.
Erected at a cost of `7 crore, the water ATMs was a joint initiative of the BMC and Sarvajal. However, many of these ATMs, due to either public ignorance or unwillingness to pay money for water, now remain unused and lie in a dilapidated state.
Citing lack of communication and favouritism, a source from Sarvajal said, “Initially the corporators at the BMC recommended erecting these ATMs at locations which they preferred. This led to ATMs being set up at places where the demand of water was lesser as compared to places suggested places by us.”
However, Piramal Sarvajal CEO Anuj Sharma said that water consumption from the installed water ATMs has been increased from 89,731 litres (February 2018) to over 27 lakh litres till January 2019.
Meanwhile, a senior official at the BMC said that the civic authority and Sarvajal are now working towards improving the state of water ATMs in the city. “We are planning to relocate about 10 such ATMs to areas that are in more need of it,” he adds.
