A four-member team of senior officials and scientists from Delhi visited Nellore to review the drinking water project commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, at Bujabuja Nellore, situated on the outskirts, to evaluate its effectiveness in providing safe drinking water to poor people.
About 15,000 residents of Bujabuja Nellore and the surrounding hamlets benefitted from this project whereby they could purchase drinking water at Rs. 2 per 20 litres.
The project, consisting of an RO plant and water tank, was inaugurated by eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan who made a visit here on April 22, 2012. The DST spent nearly Rs. 4 crore on the Bujabuja Nellore project, which was implemented as part of the Technology Mission: Winning, Augmentation and Renovation (WAR).
The DST team, which visited the venue on Monday, included Alok Ranjan, joint secretary, water resources and coal, GoI, Shipra Saxena, director of Population of Foundation of India, D.R. Prasada Raju, in-charge of water division, DST, and P.G. Rajan, team leader at WAPCOS Ltd, a GoI undertaking.
Dr. Prasada Raju said that their present visit was just to examine the results of the drinking water scheme and such projects had been undertaken across the country following the Supreme Court’s 2009 order that drinking water problems should be solved using the best technologies available.
Memo submitted
Prof. G. Rajarami Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of Vikrama Simhapuri University, met the team members and submitted a memorandum for the implementation of similar schemes in fluoride-affected areas in Atmakur mandal.
Lauding the effectiveness of the scheme, Prof. Rajarami Reddy said that there was a visible improvement in the health of the residents of Bujabuja Nellore and the surrounding areas as patients visited the hospital less frequently after the scheme was commissioned there. Also, the expenditure on medicines came down drastically.
Prof. Reddy said that following better access to safe drinking water, the schools in Bujabuja Nellore area were able to attract and retain more number of students. The prevention of water-borne diseases led to a qualitative improvement in their living standards, he added.
