This Entrepreneur Has Introduced Water ATMs in India

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This Entrepreneur Has Introduced Water ATMs in India

Parag Agarwal, Founder of JanaJal, has devised water ATMs: a structure that dispenses safe drinking water at minimum price.

By Punita Sabharwal

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Parag Agarwal

A couple of decades back no one could have thought of trading water. But well, here we are, buying, selling and hoarding it as well. However, water availability is not enough. Safe drinking water is the need of the hour. Parag Agarwal, Founder of JanaJal, has devised water ATMs: a structure that dispenses safe drinking water at minimum price.

The rates are, however, dependent on the location where it has been stationed. “We are making water available at Rs 6 per 20 litres. Whereas, in railway stations, water is dispensed at Rs 5 per litre,” informed Agarwal.

While travelling, he came across children begging more for safe drinking water than for food. In the words of the Founder, “You have to belong to the upper middle class or beyond to afford safe drinking water.”

Talking about the technology that is used to filter the water, Agarwal quoted, “Just like every illness needs a different medicine, different types of water requires different types of treatment. Our focus is to treat the water proficiently, thereby keeping its nutrient value intact. We first take a sample of water that is available in that location to assess the level of contamination in the water. Does it have iron, does it have arsenic, does it have microbiological contents, the Ph level and then on the basis of that we create the system configuration and then we install a system.”

Social entrepreneurship scales when the government joins hands with it. JanaJal doesn’t operate in partnership with the government but it is associated with it. “Water ATMs are established as a very legitimate and reliable alternative for the administration to make drinking water available. So, the Government acts as an enabler to us,” said the entrepreneur.

Read full article: The Entrepreneur

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http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/302793

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4 Comments

  2. Wonderful initiative. Makes so much sense if you have lived with communities where water is scarce or problematic to access. I have stayed in a village in Caia Mozambique were some smart business people drilled manual boreholes and charged their community members a few coins for each 20litre container of water. From the daily long queues at these water points, water was definitely good business :)

    1 Comment reply

    1. Thank you Leo. The emphasis here is on "safe" water which is distinctly different from just water. Unfortunately in water stressed environments, the availability of water itself is considered to be a blessing. Hence the aspiration for "safe water" which is actually the key driver for development and growth seems like a distant dream. We're working hard to make a difference. Appreciate your support.