Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the 24-hour ‘Drink From Tap’ project in 19 cities and towns of the state which will benefit over 5.5 lakh people.
Launching the project virtually under the 5T initiative from the convention hall of Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, the Chief Minister said that providing safe drinking water to every family has been his dream for a long time and it has been the priority of his government.
The cities which got the water facilities are – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Nimapada, Berhampur, Gopalpur, Rourkela, Sundargarh, Biramitrapur, Rajgangpur, Keonjhar, Joda, Badbil, Champua, Anandpur, Baripada, Rairangpur, Udala, Karanjia and Byasnagar. About 5.55 lakh people in these cities will be benefited from it.
It may be noted here that Puri had earlier got the Drink From Tap facility. In Gopalpur too, the second city in the state, 100 per cent of people have access to the drink-from-tap system.
The Chief Minister also announced the Drink From Tap program for the cities of Khurda, Jatni and Hinjilicut which will benefit about 1.50 lakh people in these three cities.
Describing water as precious to all, Naveen appealed to the public not to waste even a single drop of water and said all should use it properly.
The Chief Minister said clean water is very important for public health and convenience of daily life, and this facility will significantly improve the standard of living of the people in the 5T initiative.
Speaking on the occasion, Housing and Urban Development Minister Usha Devi stated the supply of clean drinking water is an important program of the state government.
OMBADC oversight authority Justice A Patnaik said he often visits the mining areas where he finds people facing problems getting water. Today in those areas, remarkable work has been done in the field of drinking water, he said.
Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department G Mathivathanan delivered the welcome speech. Among others, Minister Ashok Panda, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Secretary to CM (5-T) V K Pandian and Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das were present.
