Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and Eureka Forbes Institute of Environment took up a community-driven initiative to make safe drinking water accessible to everyone. As part of the initiative, 12 Aquaguard water purification plants were installed in 12 locations of Assam – 9 at schools, 3 at public places.
The water purification plants will provide access to healthy drinking water free of cost. Each water plant is operational for approximately 5 hours and can supply up to 14,000 litres of safe drinking water in a day.
“In spite of unprecedented progress made by India in various fields, the basic issue of safe and clean drinking water and its lack of access in most parts of the country, continues to be a roadblock stifling the collective growth of the nation. According to recent data, ground water in 20 districts of Assam is tested to exceed the 0.01 mg/l permissible level established by WHO,” an official statement said.
In several districts, the main source of water is groundwater, which is highly contaminated and has large amounts of arsenic and fluoride, which makes it unfit for drinking purpose.
The Aquaguard water purification plants have been designed by experts in water purification and are equipped with advanced technology, wherein every drop of water is treated by a 9-stage purification process. Water scientists and field experts at Eureka Forbes tested the water conditions before setting up these plants. Depending on the level of contaminants present in water, the company customized the technology. This ensured that the water was not only free from microbiological contaminants like bacteria, virus and cysts but also other life endangering pollutants like nitrates, fluorides, arsenic etc. while retaining the natural essential minerals present in the water.
The plants will be technically maintained by Eureka Forbes for a period of 3 years and daily operations will be taken care of by local authorities.
