Puri: Behind the humble beginning of Puri as the first city in India to provide Drink from Tap water, lies an intent to recognize one of the basic human rights that the world needs most today – access to safe drinking water. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s endeavor to provide all its citizens with clean safe, sufficient, accessible, and affordable water is another way of respecting and fulfilling the right to water of its people. Every success story has a beginning and today it is the turn of heritage city Puri to be the torch bearer.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals-6 says that “water sustains life, but safe clean drinking water defines civilization.”Safe drinking water is the backbone of a healthy economy and a priority that no government can ignore. In a country where more than 700 million people are far away from clean sources of drinking water, the successful implementation of the Sujal Mission in Puri brings a ray of hope for all.
Providing access to safe drinking water to all its citizens living in diverse topographies is a challenge for Odisha which it has accepted. And the aim behind it is not only providing clean water but also reaping its trickle down benefits in terms of huge savings in healthcare expenditure that may have arisen due to contaminated water. With this, the state government has tried to significantly minimize the incidents of water borne diseases. It is expected that Odisha can save more than a hundred million dollars if it can provide clean drinking water to all its citizens. More than all, a healthy family will lead to a prosperous society where Drink From Tap will enhance long-term economic and health development outcomes for the disadvantaged populations.
According to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, “Investment in water is an investment in health, investment in health is an investment in future. Providing quality drinking water to every household in the state is one of the top priorities of the government”.
As part of the ambitious 5T initiatives, the transformation of the millennium old city into a World Heritage City is continuing and the Drink From Tap mission is also a part of this initiative. While catering to the local population of Puri, it is also going to help those innumerable tourists who come from all over the world to have darshan of Lord Jagannath. The strategy adopted by the state government in implementing the Sujal Mission in the state with technical cooperation from the United Nations Children’s Fund( UNICEF) calls for community based water management system and involvement of Women Self help Groups. The focus on developing improved water quality monitoring systems and strengthening operation and maintenance of water supply infrastructures will ensure that the model sustains for a longer period. This ground based focus will be helpful in emulating the strategy in other parts of the state also.
Odisha’s efforts in making Puri the first city in the country to provide Drink From Tap facility has been widely acclaimed since it was inaugurated two days back. Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has all the praises for the project and the Government of Odisha. In a tweet, the Minister said “ Clean potable water now flows from every tap in the holy & culturally rich city of Puri. In a unique first in the country, Puri now has 100% water tap connections with 24×7 drinking water supply.”
Praising the Drink From Tap achievement, Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has said that other cities of the country should also emulate this successful mission. In a tweet, Anil Swarup, former Secretary to the Government of India, praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for this and said “This man continues to amaze. Kudos to the silent but effective @Naveen_Odisha for taking this initiative & making it happen. There is so much to learn for other states.”
Industrialist and Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted “This is a significant milestone in primary and public health. Kudos to @Naveen_Odisha for making Puri the first city in the country to deliver on this promise.”
The Drink From Tap mission’s launch in Puri is just the beginning of a broader mission that will provide clean drinking water to all people of the state in the coming days. While the direct benefits will be on health and wellbeing of the people, it will also indirectly help the environment by reducing chemicals, usage of plastic bottles, purifiers, other harmful chemicals and above all transportation through roads. We are not far away from the day when we can say the state becomes the first in the Country to supply Drink From Tap quality water.