Five More Towns In Odisha Covered Under ‘Drink From Tap’ Scheme

Bhubaneswar:  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched 24×7 piped drinking water scheme, ‘Drink from Tap’, in five towns and 149 wards of 13 more cities and towns in Odisha at a programme at Lok Seva Bhawan here, on the occasion of third anniversary of the initiative.

The CM said that 24X7 ‘Drink From Tap’ facility will now be available in Rairangpur, Birmitrapur, Rajgangpur, Champua, and Nimapada. In addition, several suburbs of Berhampur (37), Bhubaneswar (27), Cuttack (21), Rourkela (20), Sundargarh (17), Vysanagar (6), Khurda (4), Jatni (3), Hinjili (3), Barbil (2) and Joda (1) and four each in Keonjhar and Anandpur will also have access to the system.

Naveen added that about 12.3 lakh people in these areas will benefit with the implementation of the scheme.

‘Sujal – Drink from Tap Mission’, an initiative under the 5T model of governance, was launched in 2020 in Bhubaneswar and Puri benefitting 1.8 lakh people and later extended to 15 more urban areas, benefitting more than 15 lakh people.

Puri was the first town where the Drink from Tap facility was launched in 2021. In Gopalpur too, the second city in the state, 100 per cent of people have access to the Drink from Tap system. In December 2022, drinking water was supplied round-the-clock through taps installed in households, benefitting 5.55 lakh people in 19 cities and towns of the state.