Bhubaneswar, March 1: Drinking water kiosks set up in different parts of the city are lying defunct and most of the daily markets and busy roads do not have proper drinking water facilities. Considering the high temperature the capital has experienced in the past few days, this is a serious problem.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up around 10 such kiosks in various localities a decade ago. However, lack of proper maintenance has resulted in all the kiosks lying defunct since long. Some kiosks set up by voluntary organisations across the city are in a similar state.

The drinking water kiosks near Vani Vihar Square, Rupali Square, Kalpana Square and the one near Unit I daily market have not been functioning for a long time. The kiosks that function are without proper taps and in some cases, the water-cooling machines are not working properly.

A senior BMC officer said lack of adequate staff to manage these kiosks is the reason behind their current condition. “One person used to be deployed at each of these facilities to manage it. But in course of time, there was staff shortage and these problems cropped up,” said the officer.

Last week, the maximum temperature of the day had touched 40°C and commuters looking for drinking water kiosks at major junctions had to go thirsty. Many such kiosks have also been set up by traders’ associations, resident welfare associations and several institutions.

“No one is bothered about the defunct drinking-water kiosks. At a time when the temperature is hovering around 40°C, the authorities must arrange cold drinking water facilities,” said Avijit Mahapatra, a college student.

The BMC is planning to revive these kiosks in a public private partnership mode. “Since we do not have any expertise to manage these kiosks, we are planning to revive all sick kiosks in public private partnership mode,” said S.K. Nijamuddin, member of the standing committee for water supply. He also said that very soon a meeting to this effect would be held involving various business organisations, non-governmental organisations and senior citizens.

On the other hand, social service organisations such as Lions and Rotary International are operating water kiosks at several parts of the city following BMC’s footsteps. Most of these kiosks draw a good number of people because they are maintained properly.

Last year, nearly 195 temporary drinking water kiosks were set up across the city, most of them by vendors’ associations, NGOs and the Auto Chalak Mahasangha, in summer. The BMC had deployed four water tankers to supply water to these kiosks.

However, mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the corporation will shortly arrange for providing cold drinking water. “We are conducting a meeting on this issue on Friday. The BMC will also renovate the existing non-functional kiosks at the earliest,” said Jena.