Orissa seeks corporate support to tide over water crisis

With the drinking water crisis stalking several urban areas of Orissa, the state government is now seeking assistance from corporate houses, both public and private, to mitigate the problem.

“We need assistance from the major corporate houses to tackle the drinking water crisis in urban areas. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has agreed in-principle to fund around Rs 40 crore for construction of a water body to mitigate the water crisis in western Orissa towns like Brajarajnagar, Jharsuguda and Belpahar,” minister of state for housing and urban development Badrinarayan Patra said here.

While MCL will offer funding for the water body, the state government will take up the responsibility of distributing water to the towns through pipelines, the minister stated.

“We have also discussed with the authorities of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) for construction of check dams in the nearby river, which will help to tackle the drinking water crisis in Rourkela town,” he added.

RSP has invested Rs 1.54 crore in Sundargarh district for water supply and sanitation programmes in the last five years. The amount was spent under the steel plant’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund.

Besides MCL and RSP, the state government would also seek the assistance of other industrial houses to mitigate the drinking water crisis in towns like Berhampur and Titlagarh, Patra informed.

“I would discuss with the local MLAs and ministers to seek the assistance from the corporate houses like Tata Steel, Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and some other PSUs for overcoming drinking water problems in Berhampur town”, he said.

The minister was here to inaugurate two over-head tanks, constructed from the state relief commission (SRC)’s grant and a 7.5-km pipeline. The new pipeline was laid at a cost of Rs 3.47 crore.

These projects would help to tide over water crisis in several areas of the state besides benefiting 70,000 people in the town, he claimed.

It may be noted that Berhampur town is reeling under shortage of about 13 million litres of water daily. The water supply department is providing about 37 million litres daily from all sources to the town’s 370,000 population.