Odisha lags behind 22 States in drinking water supply, reveals the Economic Survey Report presented in the Parliament recently.
Chandigarh is on top for drinking water supply with 99.3 per cent followed by Daman & Diu (98.7%), Pondicherry (97.8%), Punjab (97.6%), Delhi (95%).
Drinking water facility has been made available for over 90% households in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Dadra Nagar.
The States better position than Odisha in drinking water facility are – Goa, Andaman and Nicobar, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.
The situation in Odisha is better than the States such as Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and lakshadweep.
In Odisha, according to the report, a total of 75.3% households are getting drinking water in systems of tube-well and pipe water supply.
Around 79.8% and 74.4% households are getting drinking water facility easily in urban and rural areas, respectively. However, there is no drinking water facility for 24.7% households in the State.
There is no water purification system in many places of Odisha out of the villages where the Government has provided pipe water facility. Water is supplied through pipe directly by lifting it from river.
Around 25 lakh households are yet to get safe drinking water in the State.
While 91.4% urban households are getting safe drinking water in the country, the percentage is only 79.8% in Odisha, the report reveals.