COIMBATORE: A decade after repeated complaints, students at the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department hostel at Chinna Thadagam in the district finally have access to safe water. A reverse osmosis (RO) treatment plant has been established at the hostel.
"This is the first time we have received drinking water since I joined this hostel. Earlier, we were supplied with salty borewell water, which is used for drinking, cooking, and also for sanitation. We used to purchase drinking water at the school premises or from shops outside while travelling to the school. Due to the saltiness, we avoid drinking water in the hostel. Now we are happy to get safe water inside the hostel," said Mohankumar (name changed) studying in Class 8 and staying at the hostel.
It was brought to light by TNIE on June 15 and subsequently, officials from the Periyanaickenpalayam block and SC/ST commission held an inquiry about the hostel infrastructure. Based on their observations, an RO treatment plant was established inside the hostel kitchen to supply safe drinking water to students. The effort was taken by the district administration, officials said.
Officials said it is a semi-automatic RO plant that can treat up to 500 litres of borewell water every hour. It costs around Rs 1.65 lakh and can treat the water with Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) levels up to 2,000mg/L.
Before installation, experts from the RO unit usually examine TDS level of the water available on site. Likewise, they examined the water sample collected from the hostel and TDS levels were around 850 mg/L. According to food safety officials, the safe TDS level in water is between 75 and 500 mg/L. As many as eight students stay at the hostel located at Thanneerpandhal near Chinna Thadagam.
V Pushpanandham, who had been vocal about establishing this facility for the last few years, said it was a surprise that officials finally paid heed to his demand.