Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 17: To provide potable water to people and make it affordable for everyone, Jammu Municipal Corporation, under the Jammu Smart City Project, installed water vending machines at many locations in Jammu city, previous year.
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But, it failed to fulfil its motive as these machines are still non-functional and failed to quench the thirst of people amid the scorching heat.
These machines dispense potable water that is purified by Reverse Osmosis, UV sterilised and a seven-stage filtration process. LED display screens on the machine show the cost and quality of water but all in vain as in the absence of proper water supply connection these machines failed to provide clean and cool drinking water to the people.
Talking to the Excelsior, Rajinder Sharma, who was trying to fetch water from one of the machines, said, “Water from taps and from shops in bottles is not good for health. These water-vending machines have the Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology or alternate superior technology. These provide 100 per cent potable water. Though I do not know why these machines are lying non-functional, it is a very good and affordable initiative by the JMC for the public.”
Sham Langer, a trader in Ware House, said, “The water vending machine at the Ware House has become non-functional since the last year, but the authorities, who installed these machines are least bothered about these malfunctioned machines.”
“Despite spending lakhs of rupees, these machines are lying defunct, which is the wastage of public money. The authorities must do something to make them functional, so that the people should get clean and cool drinking water amid the scorching heat, which is prevailing in Jammu these days,” he said.
“There is a lot of water shortage in my area and, at times, there is no supply for two-three days. In such cases, the machines were a boon. Now, we have no option but to buy water from shops. It is costly,” said Manish Pal, a customer in the area.
The Ware House Traders Association has highlighted the need to operate the water vending machines earliest, so that the traders as well as the customers visiting there could get clean and drinking water to quench their thirst.
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