GE, Eureka Forbes launch community-based RO plant in Gujarat

Project to provide clean drinking water to 4,500 households

In their association with Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), General Electric (GE) and Eureka Forbes Limited, have started a ‘community managed reverse osmosis water supply system’ project aimed at making available safe drinking water to 10 coastal villages in Junagadh and Porbandar districts under the Kharash Vistarotthan Yojana (KVY).

Of these, two such community managed RO-based water supply systems were handed over to villages — Miyani in Porbandar and Loyaj in Junagadh. In its entirety, the project will cover approximately 4,500 households (population 25,000) in these 10 villages.

The project is aimed at addressing the water quality problem like high levels of salinity, through the adoption of appropriate technological solutions, namely Reverse Osmosis (RO) processes.

According to SL Goklaney, executive vice chairman of Eureka Forbes, “This project will improve the quality as well as quantity of drinking water, promote sanitation programs in the villages and finally also promote self dependency among the community in matters pertaining to safe water supply and environmental sanitation – both at the individual as well as community level. Currently many families of these villages are suffering from water-related diseases. The project will ensure the quality of water and also provide water at lower rates.”

The project will also ensue the backup support of GE for the establishment of the water supply systems in the identified problem villages. The plants will be run with the assistance of the project in the first year, post which, the village communities will take care of the operation and maintenance.

While SRTT has provided financial support for the implementation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, GE has donated the RO equipment and Eureka Forbes Limited has provided technical support for installation of RO and other water purification systems.