MCG installed an automated water dispenser at Huda City Centre Metro station recently in collaboration with an NGO and a private company
Picture used for representative purpose only
The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) installed an automated water dispenser at the Huda City Centre Metro station recently in collaboration with Uthaan, a city-based NGO, and Fluor Daniel, a software company.
The objective behind the initiative was to provide safe drinking water at an affordable price as temperatures soar and potable water becomes scarce in the city. According to an MCG official, Rs 6.3 lakh has been invested in the kiosk and it will cater to about 40,000 commuters daily at the Metro station.
“We are also planning to instal three more water ATMs at different locations in the city. The health of the residents is our prime concern. During summers, several residents fall prey to diarrhoea after drinking contaminated water,” said Amit Khatri, additional commissioner, MCG.
The staff hired to dispense the filtered water at the kiosk are mute youths who have been associated with the NGO for several months. The water kiosk has been developed as part of the “Building a clean water kiosk for safe drinking water in India” project by the NGO.
“The kiosk is staffed by graduates of Welfare Center for the Hearing and Speech Impaired [a government institute in Chandan Nagar, Sector 16]. Fluor Daniel volunteers took the project from design to start-up phase, including developing a training module for the staff. The project is running successfully,” said Sanjay Kaushik, president of Uthaan.
He added, “Normally, one has to pay Rs 20 for one litre of bottled water. But here, one litre of water costs Rs 5. And if one wants to take the bottle, we charge only Rs 10."
The NGO works in fields such as vermiculture, organic cultivation, herbal planting, animal welfare, green movement and conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels. It has also joined hands with the government institute to provide jobs to its youth.
