Over 1 lakh villages in Kerala receive clean drinking water
Around 100,000 villages in Kerala, spread across 14 districts, have begun to receive clean drinking water as part of the Jivamritam Project launched by Mata Amritanandamayi Math six months ago. As many as 127 water filtration units have been installed by the Math as part of the project, which was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in October last year. Here's more on it.
More water filtration units to be installed within two months
The Math plans to raise the water filtration units to 200 in next two months, which would benefit an additional 60,000 people. Speaking on the World Water Day today, Director of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham's Center for Wireless Networks & Applications, Dr. Maneesha Sudheer, who heads the Jivamritam project, recounted the various projects undertaken by the Math relating to water conservation, distribution, and management.
What did the Director say about the project?
"Over the last six months, 50 faculty and staff and 200 students from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham have worked tirelessly to install 127 community water filtration systems in Kerala, including 55 in Alappuzha, 16 in Kollam, 11 in Thiruvananthapuram, and 10 each in Thrissur and Kozhikode."
How will the water filtering units help Kerala villages?
The water systems that are to be installed by May-end will give access to marginalized rural communities who don't get clean water and suffer from various illnesses due to consuming contaminated drinking water. The project will help address the issues of waterborne-illnesses in villages in Kerala, directly impacting public health. It was conceptualized and designed by the faculty and students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Project funded by the Amritanandamayi Math
More than 40,000 hours were spent visiting villages in Kerala, conducting site surveys, engaging with community leaders, conducting awareness campaigns, and installing the Jivamritam water filtration systems. The initial phase of the project, which aims to provide clean drinking water to one crore people spread across 5,000 villages in India, is funded by the Amritanandamayi Math at the cost of Rs. 100 crore.
Each filtration system can filter water for 400 five-member families
Each Jivamritam filtration system can filter the daily drinking-water needs of up to around 400 five-member families. The Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has also deployed a water-distribution system in the tribal village of Komalikudi in Kerala. The project also helped reduce the burden on young girls and women who need to walk several kilometers a day to carry water for daily requirements.
