India, May 5 -- The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's (BMC) initiative to provide drinking water through temporary kiosks during the summer has come under criticism due to poor maintenance and unavailability of water at many locations across the city.

To quench the thirst of pedestrians, BMC had set up 114 water kiosks across 67 wards, assigning their operation to various NGOs. The civic body is spending around 25.50 lakh monthly for the three-month project. Each kiosk is supposed to have three earthen pots and drinking glasses, and serve clean drinking water from 9 AM to 3 PM daily.

However, on the ground, the situation is far from ideal. Many kiosks remain dry most of the time, with water pots often lying empty and uncovered. The k...