Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 26 (ANI): In a bid to provide 24-hour quality drinking water to every household in Puri, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday virtually inaugurated 'Drink-from-Tap' project.

In an official statement, he said, "Puri is the first city in the country to implement Drink-from-Tap project. As a result, the people of Puri will receive high-quality drinking water directly from the tap. There is no need to store or filter drinking water. Only major cities in the world have such facilities. This will benefit 2 crore tourists coming to Puri annually along with 2.5 lakh people of Puri."The Chief Minister further said, "Today's day has added a new chapter in the development history of Odisha, all the families in the Puri Dham of Mahaprabhu will get good drinking water in tap under 'Sujal Mission'. The abode of the lord is at the forefront. Even the metro cities don't have this facility. Today, Puri has joined the world's largest cities league, including London, New York and Singapore."Appreciating the state's Urban Development and Housing Department, Patnaik said that within 9 months, 2.5 lakh people of Puri are going to get drinking water through tap facility and around 2 crore tourists would get the facility in Puri every year.

"They no longer have to walk around holding water bottles. Water fountains have been installed at 400 place of the city, including Grand Toad,which would save the city from 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste," he noted.

The Chief Minister reiterated that this is the best model of the 5 Transformative Initiatives.

Good drinking water has a strong link with health, living standards and the economy, thus, the Chief Minister urged the people not to ever waste or pollute the water. He said that the budget for drinking water has been doubled in five years and the budget of Rs 200 crore has reached Rs 4,000 crore today.

Attending the function, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Pratap Jena highlighted the various development programs being implemented by the department and said that the project to provide 24/7 quality drinking water is also being implemented in 16 cities across Odisha. (ANI)