ROURKELA: After a delay of three years, the much-awaited drinking water supply project under Urban Infrastructure Development for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) scheme has kicked off in Steel City. But residents of uncovered areas have to wait for another two years to get piped water supply.
UIDSSMT project was sanctioned in 2013-14. Work on the project has now been started at a revised cost of Rs 89 crore.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Public Health and Engineering Organisation (PHEO) Maheswar Pradhan said the project would take another two years for completion. About 35 per cent of project work has been finished. The project envisages laying of pipelines, construction of reservoirs and setting up of pumping facilities. The contract firm would be responsible for operation and maintenance for five years, he added.
PHEO Executive Engineer Anup Patel said the project aims to ensure piped water supply to about 23,000 uncovered households under 11 zones of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) limits.
Slums and colonies at Madhusudanpali, Gopabandhupali, Bondamunda, Balughat, Deogaon, Pradhanpali, Koelnagar, Civil Township and Basanti Colony will be covered under UIDSSMT project.Sources said only 20 Wards in RMC are fully covered with piped water supply, while 13 Wards are partially covered and seven new Wards are left uncovered. Conservatively, about 80,000 slum population of the city lack piped water supply. During peak summer, they face acute water crisis.
Multiple drinking water projects, under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme with an estimated cost of Rs 76.26 crore, have been sanctioned for the city over the last four years. While a couple of smaller projects have been completed recently, some others are at different stages of implementation.
PHEO sources said against the demand of 47.9 Million Litres Per Day (MLD), the city has supply infrastructure capacity of 77.8 MLD. But in absence of distribution network, piped water supply is not available to a sizeable population. On completion of UIDSSMT project, the PHEO would ensure household connections to slum pockets.