Kolkata, Feb 2 (IANS) Thanks to an innovative French technology that purifies contaminated water from lakes and ponds, residents of an arsenic-contaminated village in West Bengal now have access to safe drinking water.
Not only that, inhabitants of Madhusudan Kanti village in Gaighata block of North 24 Parganas district are also packaging the safe water and selling it to neighbouring villages, a release said.
"This is an innovative model from a joint venture of Sulabh International and French organisation 1001 Fontaines, which through various stages of purification provides safe drinking water from any water body like rivers or ponds.
"This is the first time in the world that we have succeeded in producing pure drinking water at a very nominal cost with this new technology and villagers may get direct benefit," Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak said in the statement.
The water purification process has a capacity to produce 8,000 litres of potable water per day at a cost of 10 paise (Rs.0.10).
"It will be sold at 50 paise after including other costs like distribution, storing, etc. Even people in neighbouring villages can also safely use this water," Pathak said.
The pilot project was initiated in three Bengal districts - North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Nadia - a few months ago and trial runs proved successful.
The installation cost of the machine comes to Rs.20 lakh, which was shared between the two organisations and the villagers.
"The villagers and local NGOs are going to maintain it. It is a self-sustainable project with active participation from the villagers and will generate employment," Pathak said.
According to the World Health Organization, drinking arsenic-rich water over a long period results in various health hazards, including skin problems, skin cancer, cancer of the bladder, kidney and lung, besides other diseases.
More than 33 lakh people have been vaccinated in the country so far, Uttar Pradesh-Karnataka the highest vaccination
Today is the 15th day of the ongoing vaccination program against Corona. Under this, the first dose of vaccine has been given to more than 33 lakh people in the country so far. According to the Health
Manipur Violence: The fire of violence has reached the stronghold of Nagas, why is this a matter of concern?
Manipur Violence The incidents of violence in Manipur are not taking the name of stopping. Intermittent violence has been witnessed in the state even after the creation of a buffer zone as directed by
Monsoon session of Parliament from today, there is a possibility of uproar: PM Modi said - whether the heat will reduce in the house or not, we will see; 32 bills to be brought
The monsoon session of Parliament is starting on Monday. Before the start of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the temperature outside is not decreasing, whether the heat will reduce
SSC MTS Final Result 2023: SSC MTS final result released; 1729 candidates selected, result of 57 withheld
SSC MTS Final Result 2023: The Staff Selection Commission has released the final result of the Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) and Havildar examination. Along with this, the commission has also declared the
Redmi Note 9 with 48MP camera has become cheaper, know which other phones with 48MP camera are there
Xiaomi has launched its latest Note 10 series smartphones in India. At the same time, the company has now reduced the price of its old phone Redmi 9. The company has cut the price of the top-end
This South actress made her entry in Ranveer Singh's movie, and she created a sensation with her 1800 crore film
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has many films in his kitty which are eagerly awaited. There is also a mega project with Bobby Deol. A South beauty has entered this film who is already working in a film
Nepal plane crash: All 22 bodies found; 12 dead bodies were brought to the base station, BlackBox also recovered from the site
The wreckage of Nepal's Tara Airlines, which crashed on Sunday, was found on Monday (May 30). The bodies of all the 22 people killed in the accident have been recovered. Along with this, the black box
A unique record of Test cricket: 4 captains made for the first time in 132 years in 2-match series, both teams changed in India-New Zealand series
For the first time in 132 years, four captains have appeared in a two-match Test series. This happened for the first time in 1889. During the Test series played between South Africa and England, four
Team India will break Pakistan's record?: Will have to win 3 matches from South Africa, and Australia will be equal on a clean sweep
The five-match home T20 series against South Africa will start on June 9. Team India will have a chance to break Pakistan's record in this series. If Team India wins three matches in this series, then
Saiyaara Box Office Collection: 'Khiladi Bhaiya' lost to Ahaan. Saiyaara is so far away from breaking Akshay's movie record.
The beginning of the year may have been slow for Hindi films, but now the box office is slowly getting back on track. Debut star Ahan Pandey and Anit Padda's film 'Saiyaara' has also followed the path
