Bhubaneswar : In a significant step towards ensuring access to safe drinking water, the Care Today Fund, an initiative of the India Today Group, has installed a solar-powered Iron Removal Plant (IRP) in Gurha Village, Daspalla Block in Nayagarh District, Odisha in collaboration with Jeevan Rekha Parishad (JRP).
The project is benefiting 55 households, covering nearly 350 vulnerable and marginalised individuals, who had long depended on groundwater with high iron contamination of 1.6 mg/L leading to water born diseases and other ailments. Following the installation of the Iron Removal Plant with Terafil Technology developed by IMMT, Bhubaneswar and promoted by Livpure Foundation.
Since its installation, the iron concentration has been drastically reduced to below 0.3 mg/L, making the water safe for drinking and other domestic usages.
During a recent visit, Shri Sarat Kumar Mallik, the Block Development Officer (BDO), Daspalla, along with other government officials, interacted with community members, and commended Care Today Fund’s intervention in collaboration with Jeevan Rekha Parishad and specifically appreciated the quality of the asset provided.
Officials were highly appreciative towards Care Today Fund and Jeevan Rekha Parishad for their good thoughts and their tireless efforts in envisioning to improve vulnerable communities to access clean and safe drinking water, whereby immensely improving their health and well-being.
Officials further appealed and urged Care Today Fund to install such IRP in other High Iron contained water villages in Odisha.
This initiative has not only provided clean and safe drinking water but also has promoted community ownership for the operation and maintenance of the Iron Removal Plant, ensuring the life-time sustainability of the project.
The successful implementation in Gurha Village stands as a model of how collaboration between the Care Today Fund, India Today Group, Jeevan Rekha Parishad, government authorities, and local communities can create a lasting impact on lives of vulnerable and rural communities.