A drinking water kiosk near Lingaraj Temple developed by Lions Club. (Below) A kiosk set up by BMC at Kalpana Square lies defunct. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 15: Water kiosks set up by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in many areas of the city have gone dry.

This is causing a lot of inconvenience to local residents and tourists in the capital city as the summer is almost at its peak. However, a few water kiosks set up by private operators have come to their rescue.

One of the most important water kiosk set up by BMC is at Kalpana Square behind the office of the civic body.

It seems that the BMC officers have forgotten to revive the kiosk. Another kiosk in front of Metro Tower near Vani Vihar Square is also lying defunct.

“While the city is facing an acute shortage of water and the Kalpana Square area is frequented by tourists, the importance of keeping these kiosks functioning is not being realised. The same holds true for the Vani Vihar kiosk. The only solace is the inauguration of a kiosk near the office of the deputy commissioner of police (DCP),” said Bijay Mishra, an activist with a social service organisation in Sahid Nagar.

The daytime temperature has already reached 40 degree Celsius and commuters invariably look for drinking water kiosks at major junctions. Although the BMC and voluntary bodies have set up many kiosks — some of these built in collaboration with other bodies — they are not enough considering the people’s needs.

“However, BMC should take steps to revive the defunct kiosks in important areas,” Mishra added.

Prabhat Ranjan Nayak, a shopkeeper at Kalpana Square said many people turn disappointed when they discover that the kiosk there does not have a drop of water to drink. “This proves that the urban local body is not serious about people’s problems,’’ Nayak added.

A BMC engineer, who did not want to be quoted, said: “Till 2005 there was dedicated staff to repair tube wells in the peripheral wards of the city. However, after that things appear to have gone haywire. At present, the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) is supposed to maintain them but it lacks manpower.”

Another senior officer added that two bacteria-free water kiosks were set up with bore wells having submersible pumps. But no one from the municipal corporation took interest to ensure that the kiosk keeps running without any problems.

“The BMC takes up projects with much fanfare but fails to maintain them,” he added. Social service organisations such as Lions and Rotary International are running water kiosks in several parts of the city, replicating the BMC kiosks.

While the water kiosk in front of the Lingaraj temple run by Lions International is drawing huge crowd of tourists visiting the area, its kiosk near the deputy commissioners’ office near Vani Vihar Square has some damaged taps. “This might have been caused because of the local goons. We are regularly looking after them and will change the broken ones with the new fittings,’’ said an officer of the club.

Similarly, water kiosks run by Rotary International near Kalpana Square Fire Services Office and in front of Regional Institute of Education at Unit IX area are doing well with thirsty passers-by using the service.