Puri's Water Revolution: A Blueprint for Solving India's Public Water Crisis

Puri Sets Benchmark as India’s First City with Safe Drinking Water from Taps

Odisha’s coastal city of Puri has achieved a landmark in urban public health by becoming the first city in India where residents can consume water directly from household taps. This breakthrough sharply contrasts with conditions in most Indian cities, where unsafe municipal water compels households to depend on bottled water and domestic purifiers—often masking deeper systemic shortcomings in urban governance.

Policy Push Behind Puri’s Success

Puri’s tap water now complies with quality norms prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards , certifying it as safe for direct consumption. The achievement is rooted in Odisha’s long-term water reforms, particularly the Sujal — Drink From Tap Mission launched in 2021 under the leadership of former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik . The initiative complements the Centre’s AMRUT programme, which focuses on strengthening urban water supply and sanitation. By 2025, Puri—home to nearly three lakh people—successfully ensured round-the-clock access to potable tap water across the city.

Technology, Infrastructure, and Community Oversight

Puri’s water safety framework relies on advanced multi-stage treatment processes, including sedimentation, filtration, ozonation, and chlorination. A network of high-pressure pipelines minimises contamination risks, while sensor-based systems enable real-time quality monitoring. Around 80–85 per cent of households are metered, promoting efficient water use and reducing wastage. Importantly, community participation forms a core pillar of the model: trained women volunteers known as Jal Sathi conduct field-level inspections and assist in regular testing, ensuring transparency and local accountability.

Lessons from Global Public Health History

Developed regions such as the United States and Europe addressed urban water safety challenges over a century ago through sustained public investment and regulation. Following cholera and typhoid epidemics in the early 1900s, American cities adopted filtration and chlorination as standard practices. European cities, after crises like London’s 19th-century “Great Stink,” built comprehensive sewerage and drinking water systems. Clear separation of sewage and potable water networks, backed by strong laws and enforcement, made household-level purification largely redundant.

Why Dependence on Home Purifiers Reflects Governance Gaps

India’s expanding market for domestic water purifiers is often celebrated as a sign of rising incomes, but it also highlights institutional failure. Economist Frédéric Bastiat described such outcomes through the “broken window” fallacy—where spending merely compensates for avoidable damage rather than creating genuine value. Studies, including assessments by NITI Aayog , have linked booming purifier sales to inadequate investment in public water infrastructure. In well-functioning systems, safe tap water is a guaranteed public service, not a private expense. Puri demonstrates that sustainable progress lies in fixing systems at the source rather than shifting responsibility onto households.

Key Exam-Focused Points

• Puri is India’s first city to provide 24×7 drinkable tap water .

• Sujal — Drink From Tap Mission was launched by Odisha in 2021 .

• AMRUT targets urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure .

• BIS prescribes national standards for drinking water quality .

• Community participation ( Jal Sathi ) is central to Odisha’s water governance model.