Amritdhara – a mobile RO plant to quench Chennai’s thirst

As Chennai is flooded, there is a scarcity of drinking water. In such a situation, the mobile RO unit is expected to be a boon. Dinesh Jain, an entrepreneur has put together the unit.

December 04, 2015 08:36 am | Updated March 24, 2016 01:50 pm IST - BENGALURU:

A 20,000 litre capacity truck-mounted mobile unit from Bengaluru that converts any water into potable water.

A 20,000 litre capacity truck-mounted mobile unit from Bengaluru that converts any water into potable water.

A 20,000 litre capacity truck-mounted mobile unit from Bengaluru that converts any water into potable water using Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology will reach Chennai on Friday.

As Chennai is flooded, there is a scarcity of drinking water. In such a situation, the mobile RO unit is expected to be a boon. Dinesh Jain, an entrepreneur who has put together the unit, says it will take flood water from the streets and convert it into potable water.

“We got more than 200 messages from various places in Chennai seeking help with a couple of hours of sharing this information on social media. On Friday, we will be concentrating on Tambaram and Valachery, as they are the most hit by floods,” he said.

Dinesh Jain can be contacted on +91 90-36-057712.

Bengaluru for Chennai

A group of volunteers have created a website – bangaloreforchennai.com – where help has been pouring in from various quarters. The initiative was co-ordinated by a private ad firm Brave New World Communications.

The group has started a novel initiative to distribute fully charged mobile power banks in Chennai, as most parts of the city are without power leading to communication networks being down.

The website called for people across the world to order power banks on e-commerce platforms for delivery at the office of the advertisement firm in Indiranagar.

Nikhil Kumar, who heads the digital arm of the firm, said people from across the world have ordered more than 300 power banks with immediate delivery option in just 18 hours. “The first batch of around 100 power banks left for Chennai on Thursday afternoon. The second batch will reach Chennai by Friday morning,” he said.

Others have ordered food, medicines and other essentials from various e-commerce platforms. These supplies have reached Indiranagar and will be sent to Chennai on Friday.

The virtual volunteers

Some Bengalureans have turned virtual volunteers on social media platforms.

Many are topping up pre-paid mobile phones. Residents of Chennai, who want their mobile phones recharged, have been posting messages on Facebook and WhatsApp. Virtual volunteers are complying with such requests and also urging others to do so.

With a view to preserve battery, volunteers are asking stranded persons to message them their locations and a list of contacts they want this information communicated to. The volunteers update all those on the list. “Those stranded are losing battery and mobile currency in making multiple calls and sending messages to various people,” explained Abdul Rahim in a Facebook post. Abdul Rahim can be contacted on 91-98940-49978.

Medicines, food and other essentials pour in

Many groups of volunteers are collecting medicines, blankets and other essentials to be sent to Chennai. Volunteers have put out a list of common medicines on Facebook.

A team of 20 doctors from the State will be leaving for Chennai. In the first batch, a team of 10 will reach Chennai on Friday with one truck load of medicines and another truck load of oxygen cylinders.

A Bengaluru-based startup DocsApp, a mobile application where you can book a telephonic or online consultation with specialists, is providing services in Chennai. Those stranded with medical issues can book an appointment on the app and the specialist concerned will contact the patient in 30 minutes.

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