More cities to get safe drinking water 

Under the project, drinking water will be supplied round the clock through taps installed in households, the state government has set a target to cover 40 lakh more households in 21 cities and towns by March 2024.

Informing about the actions plan for smooth running of the plan Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) minister Usha Devi said the state government has set aside Rs 2,400 crore in its budget for implementation of the mission.

Earlier, in a push for safe drinking water, Odisha government has declared Puri as the first city in the country to have city-wide safe drinking tap water.

Briefing more about the plan Usha said Execution of ‘drink from tap’ mission will be completed in Berhampur by June 2023 and in cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela by December 2023.

The minister said all five corporations – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela – have already achieved tap connection to 100 per cent households, while another 30 cities will achieve it by December 2023.

This mission was launched by hon’ble chief minister to provide drink-from-tap quality, 24×7 piped water supply to every household.