Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has restored and disinfected 97.58 per cent of the tube wells affected by Cyclone ‘Arnab’ in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamala districts, with 4,608 of the 4,722 damaged sources made functional, according to an official report released on Tuesday.
However, the restoration of rural piped water supply schemes in the three districts is progressing at a slower pace, with only 275 of the 402 affected schemes restored and disinfected so far, accounting for 68.41 per cent, the report said.
As part of efforts to ensure drinking water supply in cyclone-affected areas, the state government has deployed 292 water tankers, including 23 in Berhampur Municipal Corporation and seven in Aska Municipality.
Besides, 80 Sintex tanks and 87 diesel generator (DG) sets have been deployed to facilitate the supply of drinking water. Twelve mobile water treatment units have also been pressed into service, including two in Berhampur Municipal Corporation and one in Aska Municipality.
To meet the immediate drinking water requirements of people in the affected areas, the authorities have distributed 4.55 lakh packed water bottles and 3.20 lakh water pouches.
An additional stock of 4.03 lakh packed water bottles has been kept ready for distribution as per requirement, the report said.
Meanwhile, disinfection of all water sources in the affected districts is underway to ensure the supply of safe drinking water to residents.
The government is continuing restoration and disinfection work to ensure the normalisation of drinking water supply in the cyclone-affected areas.
