Chief Minister N. Rangasamy inaugurated purified drinking water stations at Sedurapet, Karasur and Thondamatham costing Rs. 35 lakh in Oussudu Assembly constituency on Thursday.
Each drinking water station, which has a three stage purification process, will supply 24,000 litres (1,200 cans) of protected drinking water a day through 20 litre cans at the cost of Rs.7 a can.
A senior official said that out of the total cost of a can, Rs. 2 will go to the government as revenue and the remaining Rs.5 will be used for maintenance of the plant.
The Puducherry Government had issued a notification in 2011 for establishment of 15 drinking water stations within the municipal limits to supply protected drinking water to residents.
The government had set up stations at three places on a pilot basis and based on the patronage from the residents the scheme had been extended to more places in the city and sub-urban areas in Puducherry. In July last year, the government had launched the first two of a proposed chain of purified drinking water stations in rural areas where residents can refill bubble-top cans at a subsidised price after an assessment found the intervention popular among the suburban residents.
In areas where the stations were introduced on a pilot basis, residents were getting a 20-litre bubble-top can of purified potable water for just Rs. 7 whereas the same would have cost Rs. 30 per refill from a private distributor.
The first two stations had been set up at Kathirkamam and Murungapakkam with a capacity to generate 24,000 litres (1,200 cans) every day.
The ultimate goal of the government is to put in place a chain of drinking water stations at an estimated cost of about Rs. 3 crore.
