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Puri becomes the first city in country to have ‘drink from tap’ facility
CM 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.
Odisha government on Monday declared Puri as the first city in the country to have city-wide safe drinking tap water that can be used directly for drinking and cooking without further filtration or boiling.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who dedicated the ‘Sujal-Drink From Tap Mission’ in Puri, 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, adding that all families in Puri will receive tap water fit for drinking from today.
“Under Drink From Tap-Sujal Mission, people of Puri will be able to fetch water directly from the tap to drink. There is no need for storage or a filter. Tap water will be available 24x7,” said Patnaik.
The chief minister said nearly 2 crore tourists visit Puri every year, they will no longer have to carry water bottles with them while in Puri. “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.
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 centre with IVRS for grievance redressal, a mobile water testing laboratory and a quick response team for rapid redressal of water supply complaints.
