BHUBANESWAR: Vedanta Aluminium has expanded community water access for more than 23,000 people to address summer water shortages in rural areas.
The company is supplying an additional 72,000 litres of potable water daily through water tankers and drinking water kiosks, supplementing the 2.46 lakh litres already being provided every day under its Project NIRMAL.
The initiative covers villages and habitations under Kuraloi and Piplimal gram panchayats, ward no-17 of Belpahar municipality and Jharpalam and Garjanjore panchayats, including Chakra, Bileimunda, Garjanjore, Girisima and Jamkhani.
Commissioned in April 2025, Project NIRMAL includes 12 solar-powered borewells and 20 water purification systems aimed at improving access to safe drinking water through sustainable infrastructure.
Company officials said, the solar-powered systems are expected to save around 39,420 kWh of energy annually and reduce nearly 33.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
The project has also improved water quality in the region. Turbidity levels in drinking water have been reduced to within permissible limits of less than or equal to 1 NTU, while iron content has been brought down from 1.43 mg/l to 0.1 mg/l through iron filtration systems installed in the purifiers.
Sunanda Kalo, sarpanch of Garjanjore village, said the water supplied through tankers has reduced difficulties caused by water shortages during summer.