Puri joins elite club as it becomes first city in India to provide 24x7 ‘safe to drink’ tap water

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the ‘Sujal-Drink From Tap Mission’ to provide quality drinking water that would be suitable for consumption from the tap. It will benefit over 2.5 lakh people of the pilgrim town. 

 

During the event, Naveen Patnaik said the city has joined the league of big cities in the world to provide safe drinking water to its residents direct from the tap.

 

 

 

“Puri is the first city in the country to implement the Drink from Tap project. The abode of the Lord Jagannath is at the forefront. The metro cities do not have this facility either. Today, Puri has joined the world’s largest cities league, including London, New York, and Singapore,” he said.

 

 

"The initiative to provide water supply adhering to "Quality Standards of IS 10500" will benefit the city’s 2.5- lakh population and 2 crore tourists who visit the holy place annually, he said.

 

 

 

He also added that the government has also installed the water fountains at 400 locations in Puri, including the Grand Road. He believes that the initiative will minimize the plastic waste produced in the city every day.“The move will now eliminate the usage of 3 crore plastic water bottles. This would mean the city will now be free from nearly 400 tonnes of plastic waste,” he said. He said it is a step in the direction of making Puri a world-class heritage city.

The Sujal Mission was launched on October 13 last year to ensure quality tapped drinking water for more than 1.5 million people in more than 15 urban areas. It includes a 24/7 helpline center with IVRS for grievance redressal, a mobile water testing laboratory and a quick response team for rapid redressal of water supply complaints.

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