Nagpur’s “24×7 water supply project” get’s ‘Thumbs Up’ in Berlin, Germany

Nagpur: After receiving many awards and recognitions, The Orange City Water (OCW) has added yet another feather in its cap by being showcased and receiving ‘Thumbs Up’ for its ongoing “Uninterrupted Water Supply Project (commonly known as 24×7 project) at prestigious ‘The Indo-German Partnership meet in Water, Waste and Sanitation Event’ held in Berlin (Germany) recently.

Arun Lakhani, lead Promoter of OCW (CMD of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd) represented Indian delegation and gave a detailed presentation about various issues and solutions in the Indian Water sector at the event.

Addressing the meeting Arun Lakhani, stated: “India is going through major shifts and mega changes such as rapid urbanisation leading to acute resource scarcity. The idea should be to supply water to more people while using the same capacities rather than waiting for new infrastructures to be built. Projects worth over US$15 billion are up for grab in over 10-15 years.”

Arun Lakhani mentioned that German companies should take note of the market developments in the water and waste sector in India which is rapidly changing. He advised German companies to adapt as well as improve their technologies and solutions to suit the

Indian conditions. He suggested for adoption of successful business model including PPP modes
to be successful in India.

Arun Lakhani represented FICCI as an Industrial Speaker for the event titled “Opportunities for Indo-German Partnership in Water, Waste and Sanitation”. The event was organised by the Embassy of India in partnership with the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) for the German investors and technology providers in the water and waste water sector.

Various German companies have expressed interest to participate and contribute to Ganga Rejuvenation Mission, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Smart Cities Mission of the Government of India. Vishvaraj Infrastructure has done studies on 100 cities in India, most of the cities have ample water resources but citizens are still facing water shortages due to poor water management.

German companies are global leaders offering advanced solutions in the water and waste sectors. Senior officials from German Water Partnership and German Waste Industry Association (ReTech) participated in the event and identified potential areas of cooperation with India leveraging the strengths of the German industry in water and waste sectors.

The Berlin event was attended by Ambassador of India to Germany Shri Gurjit Singh; General Manager, German Water Partnership, Christine Von Lonski; MD and CEO, Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd., Goutham Reddy; German Recycling Technologies and Waste Management
Partnership e.V., Melanie Köpke; Second Secretary (Economic& Commerce), Embassy of India, Berlin, Vikram Vardhan among others.

During the event a Panel Discussion was also held on “Opportunities for Indo-German Partnership In Water, Waste and Sanitation”. Along with Arun Lakhani, the fellow panelists were Dr. Michael Kuhn, Managing Director Kuhn GmbH, Kai Ressel, Project Manager, Harbauer Gmbh, Andreas Waldraff, Managing Director, UBF.B GmbH, Dr. Thomas Probst, Federal Association Secondary raw materials and Waste management (BVSE), Goutham Reddy, MD and CEO, Ramky Enviro Engineers & Member, CII.

This News is Originally Posted on NAGPUR TODAY

The Value of Thirst

As the country grapples with poor water management, polluted water bodies, shortage of drinking water and water-borne diseases, businesses and entrepreneurs are coming up with unique solutions to quench the thirst of the people. Business Today profiles a few promising initiatives that could prove to be game-changers.

VISHVARAJ INFRASTRUCTURE

 

Nagpur was no different from the rest of India when it came to water mismanagement. "These inefficiencies clubbed with low tariff made the urban water distribution unsustainable," says Arun Lakhani, Chairman, Vishvaraj Infrastructure. So, when Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued tenders for 24x7 water supply in the city and another project at Bhandewadi for water reuse, Lakhani bid for both projects. For the Rs 550-crore 24x7 water supply project the company is supposed to provide continuous water supply to every household, improve the technical and commercial efficiency of the system, lay 2,100 km of pipelines, set up a water treatment facility and storage reservoirs, apart from providing 325,000 new house service connections. It is also responsible for metering, billing and collection of charges. "We carried out our hydraulic modelling of the city and, now, all households in Nagpur are getting at least three to four hours of daily water supply."

PIRAMALSARVAJAL

 In a country where 125 million people do not have access to drinking water, Sarvajal's ATMs cater to 300,000 people every day at 30 paisa per litre of potable water. Since its launch in 2009, the company has installed over 180 water units across 13 states. "All one has to do is swipe the prepaid card and key in the amount required, and the machine dispenses the water. The Sarvajal server keeps a record of user transactions and deducts the amount used on the card," says Vasu Padmanabhan, CEO, Piramal Sarvajal. The company has got into partnerships with local entrepreneurs, panchayats and community-based organisations to run the water treatment plants. "Local community members are selected and trained to manage the purification units. The projects are also monitored remotely on a daily basis to ensure production and purity, and understand the consumption pattern for remedial action," he adds. The ATM units cost Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, and the local partners can also earn up to Rs 35,000 per month. The plant works on reverse osmosis and UV-based filtration technology.

WATERLIFE INDIA 

Sudesh Menon, who was tipped to take over as the South East Asia head of GE, quit the company to later launch Waterlife India in partnership with two former colleagues - Mohan Ranbaore and Indranil Das - in 2009. So far, the Hyderabad-based company has installed over 4,000 water purification plants to quench the thirst of over 12 million people across 15 states. Waterlife focuses on community water systems in villages and urban slums, and works in collaboration with governments, local bodies and corporate houses. Menon says that sustainability is key while providing high quality water over the long-term (five to 15 years), compared to systems that go defunct after the first year "due to poor maintenance or apathy". A Waterlife team first visits the village to map its drinking water requirements, analyses the viability and tests sources of water for contamination. Based on the findings, a customised plant is built. It costs anything between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. Operators are hired to operate and maintain the plant after rigorous training. "We expect to maintain revenue growth of 30-40 per cent per annum over the next five years," says Menon, adding that the World Bank's recognition of Waterlife as one of the pioneers in the provision of safe water in the bottom-of-the-pyramid market was a rewarding experience.

KENT RO

When Mahesh Gupta failed to get a quality water purifier for his children diagnosed with jaundice, he decided to make one himself. "Purifiers primarily work on the Ultra Violet principle, wherein the water passes through UV rays and the bacteria are killed in the process. For me, that was not enough because industrial activity has resulted in contaminated ground water, and impurities such as arsenic, rust, pesticides and fluorides," says Gupta, Chairman, KENT RO Systems. After several trials, he zeroed in on the reverse osmosis (RO) technology and the first KENT purifier was launched in March 1999 from his garage in South Delhi. In the first year he sold around 100 units for Rs 20,000 a piece, compared to the Rs 5,000 price tag of other available water purifiers in the market. Gupta claims, KENT RO now enjoys 40 per cent share of the RO market and is looking at Rs 1,000-crore turnover in 2016/17.

This New is Originally Posted on BusinessToday