JOIN USA thirst buster idea in a parched village
Residents of Kadapathi Halliyal village in the taluk are a fortunate lot. They get purified drinking water at just 10 paise per litre, a study in contrast to people of other villages who cannot afford this luxury.
The initiative of the K H Patil Foundation and Rural Medical Service Society (RMSS), in association with the Kadapathi Halliyal Gram Panchayat and the villagers - which have installed the ‘Shuddha Neeru’ water purification plant - has paid off.
For the past 25 days, people in Kadapathi Halliyal village get 20 litres of purified water every time they put a Rs-two coin into the machine installed at the plant, which has a capacity to purify 1,000 litres of water an hour.
“To check waterborne diseases among the villagers who fetch drinking water from the tanks, such plants (which purify water in seven stages) are being installed in villages, in association with the Karnataka State Urban Co-operative Banks’ Federation, local co-operative societies and villagers.
We want to install such plants in more than 100 villages across North Karnataka, which are facing the problem of contaminated drinking water,” former minister H K Patil told mediapersons, during his visit to the village on Monday.
Community participation
According to S R Naganur, Secretary of RMSS, the water purifying machine was provided to the village at a cost of around Rs 3.5 lakh, and the remaining infrastructure has been developed by the Gram Panchayat and villagers.
“The plant has to be maintained by the local people only. They cannot revise the water charges without consulting us, and servicing for the machine will be provided for the next five years. We are ready to set up such plants in more villages located in the black cotton soil areas which are facing a problem in getting clean potable water. But this can materialise only if local communities come forward to participate in the project implementation and maintenance,” minister said.