Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Five drinking water projects that chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated here today would benefit around 47,000 residents.

Naveen went around the city and inaugurated a slew of drinking water projects that have cost the exchequer Rs 12.61 crore. 

Three of these projects — at Saheed Nagar, Chakesiani and Naharkanta — are underground drinking water reservoirs that will cater to the need of nearly 32,000 people. The two other projects takes piped drinking water to the residents of Patia and Damana. 

The Patia project will benefit the nearly 15,000 residents of Sree Vihar and Barsa Villa.

“The drinking water reservoirs will depend on both ground and surface water sources. Each of these reservoirs will have automated pumping system with two pumps of 60 horsepower each. One of the pumps will be on standby for operation during emergencies,” said public health engineering organisation (PHEO) superintending engineer Chitta Ranjan Jena.

These projects are significant as at present drinking water facility is available in only 33 of the 67 wards.

“Extension of drinking water facility is a good initiative of the administration. Bringing in new areas within the network will ensure that people have access to drinking water,” said Janani Mishra, a resident of Sree Vihar.

The city can expect better drinking water system with the PHEO lining up a slew of projects for its improvement and extension.  

Piped drinking water connection will be extended to the residents of Unit-IX and Palasuni for Rs 18.7 crore and Rs 1.2 crore, respectively.

In another development, to lessen the amount of non-revenue water usage, the PHEO is set to install household water meters. Households in Unit-I, Unit-III, Unit-IV, Unit-IX, Old Town, Saheed Nagar, Rental Colony in Nayapalli, Chandraskeharpur and Ghatikia will soon have to pay for use of water. An amount of Rs 86.86 crore is being spent on the project.

“A number of these projects will be commissioned under the recently-launched Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation scheme and a few will get financial assistance from the state,” said a PHEO official.

It is another matter that the PHEO supplies water that is double city’s daily requirement, but system leakages and thefts result in half of it going down the drain.

The chief minister also inaugurated a dedicated mother and childcare hospital on the premises of Capital Hospital here today. The 100-bed hospital was built at a cost of Rs 17 crore.