BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Saturday asked all urban local bodies (ULBs) to act against the agencies and organisations opening water kiosks in summer as a publicity stunt and then abandoning them.
Issuing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to this effect, the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department directed the civic bodies to open adequate number of drinking water kiosks and distribution centres at strategic places such as roadsides, crossroads, public offices, bus stand, railway station, marketplaces with the help of Mission Shakti SHGs, federations, NGOs and volunteer organisations.
“Water provided in such water kiosks must be of potable quality and proper sanitation be maintained including use of long handle dispensers and daily change of water,” the department instructed.
However, agencies and organisations that resort to such work only for self-publicity and discontinue them after inauguration should be avoided and dealt with strongly, the SOP underlined.
The department instructed that all water supply pipelines should be kept in proper working condition and any complaint attended within 24 hours. Water tankers should be deployed to different scarcity pockets for uninterrupted supply of drinking water. Additional number of tankers must be hired if required, it stated.
The ULBs have also been asked to ensure that the tube wells and hand pumps are kept in operational condition before onset of the summer. Control rooms will also be set up at different level to attend to the complaints received on water scarcity. The heat wave warnings issued by IMD will be tracked on a regular basis to deal with the situation effectively.
Civic bodies will create awareness among the households to keep one pot of water in front of their houses for stray birds and animals.
They have also been asked to ensure strict enforcement against burning of municipal solid waste and green waste during the heat season.