Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: The dream of citizens to quench their thirst using a smart card at water ATMs here suffered a setback with the installation of machines getting delayed and looks set to miss its deadline.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) had planned to install the water ATMs in 2014, but the project took off partially only in August last year. And sources say BMC lacks the initiative to take the project forward.
The corporation had on July 12 inked a pact with its private partner Piramal Sarvajal for installation of 40 water ATMs and construction of four water treatment plants in the city. The project estimated at Rs 4.93 crore was supposed to be completed by January this year.
The first water ATM was installed in the city on August 31 at Jharana Sahi, a slum near Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's residence. It was here that last year jaundice had affected more than 50 persons.
However, the project did not gather momentum ever since Naveen had inaugurated the facility at Jharana Sahi. Looking at the pace at which the project is moving, it seems difficult for the project to meet the January deadline.
A number of water ATMs, which were procured for installation, are gathering dust at a facility in Jharpada here. If the project has made minimal progress, the treatment plant plan is yet to achieve the minimum. The project has got delayed as the civic body is yet to get Public Health Engineering Organisation's approval to use their assets.
Talking to The Telegraph, BMC's city engineer Dwaipayan Patnaik said there were problems in getting electricity connection, but the modalities were now in place and the was on time.
"We are trying to get 10 water ATMs operational by the end of January," said Patnaik.
The ground reality, however, doesn't support Patnaik's confidence in meeting the deadline. The Telegraph had in October reported about the Jharana Sahi machine lying defunct. The civic body responded fast and got the machine working within a week. But the effort did not last long with the machine developing a snag shortly after it was repaired.
"The government is acting in an irresponsible manner. It is evident that the administration has little concern about our health and hygiene. Only last year jaundice had affected a number of people in our area. The government had then provided us safe drinking water but we are still waiting for the facility to be available round the year. We do not even have a smart card," said Girish Jena, a resident of Jharana Sahi.
According to the plan, water purification plants were to be constructed at Mullapadia, Salia Sahi, Laxmi Sagar and Pokhariput. While the work on the plant at Pokhariput is over, the other three are in process.
"The project is getting delayed since it needs to go through several processes, which include those related to power connection and Public Health Engineering Organisation's approval to install purification units," said a civic body official.
