Kendrapara: A water kiosk, which started working three months ago at Achyutapur in Bharigada panchayat under Rajkanika block, has managed to meet the needs of the people.
The kiosk provides filtered, chilled water in the scorching heat in this remote village of Kendrapara district.
Pradip Mallik, sarpanch of Bharigada, said the machine was installed with funds allotted by the 14th Central Finance Commission.
A sum of Rs 5 lakh was spent for installing the kiosk, purchased from a Hyderabad-based company, at the Achyutpur Nua Haat.
The water kiosk has managed to meet the needs of the people here, and has been providing safe, clean and chilled water. Most of the time the kiosk is crowded as people can get safe drinking water cheaply from it.
The machine dispenses water according to the amount of money put in it. For 2.5 litres of cold, filtered water the charge is a Re 1 coin. To fill a 20-litre jar one has to spend Rs 7. The public can buy water using coins of Re 1, Rs 5 and Rs 10.
The panchayat has also been providing plastic ATM cards with a balance of Rs 50 for buying water. A software has been developed for this.
A cardholder takes out the plastic card and holds it in front of the sensor of the water kiosk. The sensor reads the card and shows the balance. The cardholder places a water container below the tap on the water kiosk and presses a button, and Reverse Osmosis (RO) processed water starts flowing.
The machine calculates the quantity of water dispensed and deducts the amount from the card, said sarpanch Malik.
The water kiosk’s storage capacity is 250 litres. It is functioning 24 hours with solar electricity backup. There is also an iron barricade near the kiosk and CCTVs, Malik added.
Locals said most of the time tube-wells do not work for days together. The ‘water ATM’ meets their drinking water needs, they added.
The most important thing is that people can collect 2.5 litres of pure water by spending just Re 1. The restaurants of the locality are now collecting water from the kiosk.
The ‘water ATM’ has helped the people avail drinking water in the wake of cyclone Fani as power supply has not been restored in Bharigada panchayat, said IIC Jyoti Ranjan Samantaray of Rajkanika police station. The funds collected from the kiosk are being used for development projects.
As the kiosk is providing clean water cheaply, the sale of bottled water has come down, local shopkeepers said.