Saaf Paani, Badalti Kahaani
Drilled Wells
Fixed Handpumps
Rainwater Catchment
Introduction:
Harrowing digestive problems and stomach aches beyond imagination impacted the people of the
Assam, Jharkand, and many other states of India. These illnesses came sporadically, people had no place
to seek help from, nor did they know the cause of their conditions. A few, who consulted doctor, that
the reason was the consumption of contaminated water from water bodies.
The water sources, for some villages, were kilometers away so women had to walk for many kilometers
to get this dirty water which not only used to take their entire day but also caused many road accidents
and deaths. Villages in Darrang district, Assam, had very poor-quality ground water which was
consumed by many villages for drinking and cooking.
Some villages like Sidpahadi, Chuttu, in Jharkand, had government installed handpumps but they were
not working for many years leading to water scarcity.
Our goal is to learn and help resolve area specific water problems.
How:
The NHTB team worked closely with the villagers to fix and train them repair old hand pumps and install
new ones. The team created awareness of hygiene and how water is the main issue of many of the
diseases people are suffering from. People in some districts of Assam and Jharkhand are now self-
sufficient in solving water problems. Everyone takes good care of the handpumps, started locking
handpumps to avoid misuse of handpumps.
Many districts, in Assam and Jharkhand, have iron infused water which was not advisable for drinking.
This water is toxic and can have an adverse impact on kidneys in long run. This water could not be
treated by boiling, so filtering was the only option. The NHTB team used deployed water filtering
technology (mechanical, not requiring electricity) at no or minimal cost. Now hundreds of villagers’ drink
filtered water every day.
Villages in Uttarakhand, which is on high lands, has no easy access to ground water and carrying water
from lowlands is very expensive. The NHTB team developed water harvesting systems to solve water
availability issue in a cost-effective manner.
Collaboration:
The NHTB team collaborated with IIT Mumbai to develop cost effective rain harvesting system and
filtration system. The engineers gave live installation instructions to the ground staff and now help with
ongoing maintenance.