Water scarcity dogs Capital city

Bhubaneswar: At a time when the State is already reeling under water scarcity, waste of water in most parts of the capital city is something that speaks much about the efficacy of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in effective management of water.

Such a scene can be evident at Raj Kumar Basti in Satya Nagar of the Smart City. Raising concerns over the issue, a visually-impaired social activist of the Basti, Sanyasa Behera had written a letter to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) then directed the State government to act on the issue; however, the BMC is yet to take up any step in the area.

“The order of the PMO is not even getting materialized. Who will a common man or a visually impaired person approach with his woes? The celebration of World Water Day can be successful only if the consumption of contaminated water is at least prevented,” said Behera.

Salia Sahi, Manda Sahi and Jadupur (Khandagiri) are some other areas facing water scarcity. Besides, Salia Sahi and Manda Sahi are in grip of Jaundice due to the use of contaminated fresh water.

“Under Amrut Yojana, we have covered all private, government and slum areas in the city. Within one year, water will be accessible to all through stand posts, pipelines and individual water connections,” said BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena.

Earlier, BMC had launched water ATM (water vending kiosks) in the city on the eve of local self governance day to ensure sufficient fresh water availability. It had also plans to set up 30 more ATMs and a waste water treatment plant. However, the plans have not yet materialized.

Meanwhile, Urban Town Planner Piyush Ranjan stressed the need to fasten the ongoing construction of waste water treatment plant on priority basis.