Krishnagiri: In Mathakondapalli village, 10 kilometers from Hosur of Krishnagiri, almost all villagers draw drinking water from a local source, highly-contaminated water containing heavy minerals and other chemicals.
With no other option, they are forced to buy drinking water from local traders who charge them
Rs 30 for 20 liters of bottled water. Now, the villagers will save around Rs 1,000 every month, thanks to the initiative of private truck manufacturer, Ashok Leyland, which has installed water ATM at villages where the water contamination is high.
A reverse osmosis water purifying plant has been installed at Mathakondapalli village which will give safe drinking water to a population of around 4,000 people. This is a plant operated and managed by the local community and has an ATM-based dispensation unit to levy a nominal charge towards maintenance cost of the unit.
Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) for Hosur, G. Vimal Raj, inaugurated the unit and asked Ashok Leyland to provide such a facility to another 10 villages that have no safe drinking water.
President, HR for Ashok Leyland, N.V. Balachandar, said, “We have launched the first of its kind safe drinking water project in association with Hinduja Foundation. Availability of safe drinking water in our villages means lesser chances of water related ailments and will translate to better productivity and overall domestic environment.” According to Ashok Leyland officials, the firm has so far installed around eight water ATMs in Thiruvallur and Chennai, nine ATMs in Hosur, one in Namakkal and one in Sangagiri.
