Other States - Orissa   

24x7 water supply on trial basis

Hiroshi Nishimaki, team leader, explaining the concept in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

BHUBANESWAR: The Public Health Department (PHD) has launched round-the-clock water supply system, first of its kind in Orissa, for limited households at Sahid Nagar in the capital city on trial basis from October 25.

If the pilot 24X7 water supply project turns out to be successful and viable, it will be replicated in other localities of Bhubaneswar before bringing whole city under the uninterrupted water supply regime.

Special Assistance for Project Implementation (SAPI) department of the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) is guiding the project while PHD along with a city-based NGO, Jagruti, are implementing the pioneering model.

"From June, the SAPI team kicked off meetings with officials to conduct a 24X7 pilot project as part of institutional development and capacity building. We are at initial stage. Next month, a water audit would be done to know effectiveness of the pilot project," SAPI team leader Hiroshi Nishimaki told The Hindu here on Saturday.

As per the strategy, a public meeting has been planned during the first week of November to gauge the response of consumers on the 24X7 water supply system.

"The project would revolutionise the whole water supply system. There will be bottlenecks at initial stage as the city is switching to 24X7 water supply, which has so far been unthinkable," Manoj R. Nanda, an executive engineer with PHD, said. Mr. Nanda hoped the department would try to overcome all the shortcomings as the project would progress further.

At present, water is being supplied to 104 households in Sahid Nagar by measuring inflow and outflow of water. About 23 houses have been connected directly through the distribution pipe avoiding sump, booster pump and overhead tanks.

Besides infrastructure improvement in the distribution network, the 24x7 water supply project envisaged installation of meters to all water supply house connections and enforcement of discipline on connection and payment. Under 24-hour water supply, consumers would save power and other expenditure such as installation of water tank, transportation and repair.

If the city administration decides to implement the innovative water supply system, the government may seek necessary fund from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Mr. Nanda said.

It had been estimated that Rs. 100 crore would be required to improve the water supply system of capital city to certain extent, P. C. Rath, consultant for JBIC’s SAPI project, said. JBIC had earmarked Rs. 600 crore for the Bhubaneswar project, he said.

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