Puri’s Drinkable Tap Water and India’s Purifier Paradox

A Public Health Milestone in Urban India

Puri’s Drinkable Tap Water and India’s Purifier Paradox: Odisha’s Puri has become India’s first city where residents can safely drink water directly from household taps. This achievement marks a rare success in India’s urban water governance landscape. It stands out sharply against the widespread dependence on bottled water and domestic purifiers across Indian cities.

Unsafe tap water remains a leading cause of waterborne diseases in urban areas. Puri’s model has therefore triggered a national debate on why safe drinking water remains an exception rather than the norm.

Static GK fact: Access to safe drinking water is a key indicator under the Sustainable Development Goal 6 adopted by the United Nations.

Policy Vision Behind Puri’s Success

The foundation for safe tap water in Puri was laid through the Sujal – Drink From Tap Mission, launched by Odisha in 2021. The programme aimed to deliver potable water directly at household taps without the need for further treatment.

This mission was aligned with the Centre’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), which focuses on improving urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Odisha had earlier piloted a similar initiative in 2017, becoming the first Indian state to commit to universal drinkable tap water.

By 2025, Puri achieved 24×7 potable tap water coverage for its population of around three lakh.

Static GK Tip: AMRUT was launched in 2015 and covers cities with populations above one lakh.

Technology and Quality Assurance Systems

Puri’s water safety depends on multi-stage treatment processes. These include sedimentation, filtration, ozonation, and chlorination to eliminate physical, chemical, and biological contaminants.

Water quality is monitored through sensor-based real-time systems installed across the distribution network. High-pressure pipelines prevent contamination caused by leakages and backflow, a common issue in older urban systems.

Nearly 80–85 percent of households are equipped with water meters. This supports demand management and reduces wastage.

Static GK fact: The Bureau of Indian Standards prescribes IS 10500 standards for drinking water quality in India.

Community Participation and Local Accountability

A distinctive feature of the Puri model is strong community involvement. Trained women volunteers known as Jal Sathi conduct field inspections and assist in routine water testing.

This decentralised monitoring system strengthens accountability at the grassroots level. It also builds public trust in tap water quality, which is often missing in Indian cities.

Global Lessons from Developed Regions

The United States and Europe addressed urban water safety more than a century ago. American cities adopted filtration and chlorination in the early 20th century after deadly cholera and typhoid outbreaks.

European cities invested in municipal water and sewer systems during the 19th century, particularly after public health disasters such as London’s “Great Stink.” Strict regulation and separation of sewage and drinking water infrastructure became non-negotiable.

Static GK Tip: Chlorination of drinking water was first widely adopted in the US around 1908.

Why Home Water Purifiers Reflect Systemic Failure

India’s growing market for home water purifiers highlights institutional shortcomings. Dependence on private purification shifts responsibility from the state to households.

Economic thinkers describe this as the “broken window” fallacy, where spending merely compensates for failure rather than creating new value. Reports have linked rising purifier sales to chronic underinvestment in public water systems.

Puri’s experience demonstrates that genuine progress lies in fixing public infrastructure at the source, not normalising household-level solutions.

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