BHUBANESWAR: In the absence of electricity, a large number of drinking water projects in the cyclone affected districts are yet to be made functional. Even as Tata Power North Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL) claimed to have restored power supply to many areas in the affected districts barring Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj by Thursday evening, a report from the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department stated that only 214 out of 441 overhead tanks under Balasore Rural Water Supply Division could be refilled through diesel generator set.
The department has installed 85 temporary PVC water tanks in Balasore division and 100 more tanks have been despatched to supply water to areas where piped water supply could not be possible. Three mobile water treatment plants have been pressed into service to supply safe water to the people of the district headquarters town.
According to the department, 2,392 out of 3,064 water supply projects in seven rural water supply divisions in Balasore, Bhadrak, Baripada, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack were substantially damaged by cyclone Yaas. While 1,071 affected projects were made functional by the evening of May 27, works were on war footing to operationalise the remaining projects. The department has pressed 512 water tankers to supply drinking water to the affected people.