Kalaliya is a large village located in Jaora Tehsil of Ratlam district, Madhya Pradesh with total 843 families residing in it. The main source of drinking water in this village is tube well, supplied to them via piped connection to their house. 97% (32/33) of households depend upon it even though the TDS is 900.
The intervention of Safe Drinking water is required because-
Quality of water: During an internal survey, 94% (31/33) of respondents rated their drinking water quality as poor.
Willingness to Purchase: 91%(30/33) of households have shown a willingness to purchase drinking water from Sarvajal plant and are willing to spend between INR 150 – INR 300 on it per month. Also, 73% (24/33) of households are willing to opt for home delivery at an additional cost.
Medical Expenses: 40% of households earn between INR 5001 -15,000 per month, on an average spend 3.1% i.e. INR 400 of their monthly income on medical expenses.
In such challenging situation, Standard
Chartered Bank adopted this village by setting up community-level purification
plant with Water ATM. Water is dispensed from the ATMs by swiping the RFID card
provided to the consumers. These ATMs are remotely monitored and
cloud-connected to the central management system by Sarvajal to ensure
last-mile delivery, price transparency, pay per use and quality assurance. With
the increased demand the plant has Hub and Spoke model and provides water to 4
nearby villages through Water ATMs.
At
the start of the intervention, a Village Water Committee (11 members) was
formed that focused on the community as a collective. It built a sense of
ownership and commitment for the project. Poonam Ji is the operator of the purification
plant and is working consistently towards the cause. The village has accepted
woman as operator and committee members to take up such opportunities and lead
in her own community thereby broadening the perceptions of the community.
Operator Pooman Ji narrates "Life has started with a new beginning and I am excited to learn a lot. I finish all the household chores in the day so that I can meet more customers in the morning and evening. Serving water is a noble cause and for this, I got the support and confidence from home that every woman should get. I keep learning from the members of VWC on how I can manage the plant and customers effectively”
The NGO partner Enable Health
Society‘s team engages with the community every month to encourage them to
adopt better health solutions to consider long-term benefits. Spread awareness
about health and water linkages along with different types of contamination
that affect health.
After a certain period of time, our consumers have acknowledged the importance of water quality as it is beneficial to them.
Voice of consumer
