(Above) A man drinks water from a kiosk set up by a voluntary group and (Below) a temporary CMC kiosk without water in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 26: The municipal corporation has drawn flak for failing to set up temporary drinking water kiosks despite a rise in temperature in the city.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation had earlier announced to set up such kiosks across the city by April 15. But, only a handful of them are functional at the moment.

Sources said the corporation had planned to come up with 108 temporary water kiosks in various parts of the city. So far, only about 30 are operational.

Senior officials attribute the delay to problems faced because of heavy rains that lashed the city over the past couple of days. However, they said efforts were on to set up the kiosks at the earliest.

“All the temporary water kiosks will be made operational by tomorrow,” said city health officer P.K. Pradhan. He said the corporation would establish and manage all the 108 temporary water kiosks. It has been decided to set up at least two water kiosks in each of the 54 wards in the corporation limits.

The civic body spends between Rs 10 lakh and 12 lakh to set up the kiosks every summer, said sources. This is the second year in a row that the civic body has not been able to carry out the programme efficiently.

The delay in setting up the temporary water outlets has led to resentment among local residents.

“The corporation has failed to create drinking water provisions at various locations. It is essential to ensure that people do not face problems during the peak summer season,” said Umakant Swain, a resident of Madhupatna. He said the corporation officials should try to streamline the processes to ensure that the drinking water units are set up before April every year.

“The existing drinking water kiosks set up by the corporation are running dry and often left unmanned,” said Manoranjan Dash, a resident of Ranihat.

More than 15 drinking water kiosks set up by various private banks and 30 others set up by voluntary groups are now catering to the requirements of people on the move in the city.