On Thursday morning, a steady stream of people with pots and bottles visited a water dispensing facility on Vellaikannu Theatre Road near Arasaradi to fetch drinking water. “For the past six months, we have been using it. It is economical and the water tastes good too,” says P. Jayamala, a resident. To provide safe drinking water, Madurai Corporation has roped in a private player to install water dispensing units at 25 places. Work has been completed in 19 places.
It is economical
The process of getting water from the machine is easy. By dropping ₹1-coin into a slot, one can fill a one-litre bottle. For drawing 20 litres of water, one has to pay just ₹7 using a smart card which can be bought from the attendant for ₹60. If one loads the card with ₹140, one can draw 20 litres of water for 20 times. Those without the card can still pay ₹7 to the attendant and draw 20 litres of water.
While the Corporation provides land and identifies water source, the private firm instals and maintains the unit for 10 years. The groundwater is treated through Reverse Osmosis (RO) method to make it potable. H. Ramamurthi, director, Misty Pure Technology, the company involved in the project, says each plant can treat up to 1,000 litres of water an hour. Waste water from the plant is used by residents for other purposes, he says.
A Corporation official says water-stressed locations have been identified throughout the city to instal these machines. “If space is available, we identify the water source and the unit is set up. Priority is given to areas in the 28 wards annexed to the 72 wards of the city a few years back,” the official says.
Over 500 people have bought the smart cards in the city in the past six months, when the units started functioning, says Mr. Ramamurthi.
The unit dispenses safe drinking water at an economical rate, says C. Pandiarajan of Sourashtrapuram, who regularly fetches water from the unit near Vandiyur bus stand. “Private water tankers charge ₹10 for each pot and a 20-litre mineral water can costs ₹30. So it is very economical,” he says.
It is particularly useful for daily-wage workers as many of them cannot miss their work to fetch water from Corporation water tankers, says P. Tamilthai who runs an idli shop in Arasaradi. “Since it is open throughout the day, we can fetch water whenever we are free,” she says.
Not commissioned
Though the dispensing units have been installed at 19 locations, those in Kochadai, Virattipathu, Malligai Apartments in KK Nagar and other places are yet to be commissioned. K. Karunanidhi, secretary, Malligai Apartments Residents’ Welfare Association, says though the work was completed four months back, it is yet to be inaugurated. “Water supply by the Corporation is erratic, more so in summer. Sooner it is commissioned, more useful it will be,” he says.
Not many people know that such an useful facility exists in their midst. If the corporation advertises about the benefits and the locations, more people will use these machines, says S. Vasanthi of HMS Colony near Virattipathu.
