HYDERABAD: Karunakara M Reddy, CMD of Smaat India, who is running Community Water Centers across south India, has been awarded the Jal Daan Water Hero Award. He was voted the ‘Most Inspirational Success Story in 20 Episodes of Jal Daan’ on CNN News Channel. He received the award from Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and actress Madhuri Dixit in Mumbai on Friday.
Karunkara Reddy inspired 2.5 million people to take the pledge to donate five litres of water to those who don’t have access to safe drinking water.
Karunkara, who hails from Mahaboobnagar district, started his career in Pepsi and his water journey too a few years ago. He is the winner of Quality Crown Award from Princess of England for his Innovation in Aqua Technology. He is currently the CMD of Smaat India, a pioneer in the arena of water, air and environmental solutions is in the process of installing more water plants in Maharashtra. The company is said to have introduced eco-friendly, user friendly, non-chemical technologies to the global market with 120,000+ satisfied customers around 33 countries.
Smaat is about to launch another project of 10,000 water plants in the rural areas of India by the Year 2020.
To facilitate rural India with safe drinking water at affordable rates, Smaat is partnering with corporate, banks and village organisations. By installing more and more water plants, Smaat is aiming to serve the rural and marginalized people with potable water at affordable rates. “Moreover, we are able to provide clean and safe water to the quality effected places with fluoride, iron, Arsenic, pesticides and hardness,” he says.
Smaat India, he says, is now on a mission to provide potable water to the poor and marginalized, and these new projects would add more energy in the overall process of environmental stabilization. Smaat will act as a technical partner in these projects by providing technical assistance to implement the project, he aded.
Along with the availability of safe drinking water the community will benefit other factors like empowering skill development, employment opportunities, healthier life etc. It is always good to look around for the by products of a development process. Finding and utilizing them are crucial in enriching the overall development of the community, Karunkara said.
Currently, SMAAT has over 1,800 centres that supply RO water and supply ten litres of pure drinking water for as low as Rs 3 for each family. This is reportedly helping women save time on fetching water and use it to earn money for their family, espcially in rural areas.