THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bacteria-free drinking water remains a distant dream for many people, especially those living in rural and remote parts of the country. But this could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to 26-year-old Adarsh P Kumar, who has developed a cost-effective, solar-powered device that can be affixed to water pipelines and taps to distribute purified drinking water. He launched his startup, Hydronest, in August 2023 to supply drinking water to the hinterlands.
The startup has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thiruvananthapuram-based Central government institution CSIR-NIIST (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology) to co-develop the device.
In Kerala, drinking water is to be distributed with the support of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and respective local self-governments.
The pilot project will be held in April in three panchayats: Ambalapuzha North, Ambalapuzha South, and Punnapra in the Alappuzha district. The startup identified the places as suffering from acute shortage of drinking water due to their proximity to the coast.
The startup is already in talks with panchayat officials, and discussions with KWA officials are expected this month. The technology has impressed KWA, which has assured its support for the startup. In the second phase, the project will be implemented in some panchayats in Palakkad. It will later be implemented in eastern states, including West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha.
“One key feature of the technology is that it can generate potable water from tap or river with arsenic, excess iron, and pathogens and supply it to the rural population in India.
The startup also supplies clean water to hydrogen valleys — which according to the Department of Science and Technology is defined as a geographical area where hydrogen serves more than one end sector or application in mobility, industry, and energy.
Using the device, we can remove arsenic, excess iron, E.coli, and coliform from raw water. Our company has signed an agreement with CSIR-NIIST to produce purified drinking water for rural people,” says Adarsh, who hails from Tiruvalla.
“Our target is to provide the rural population in India with arsenic and pathogen-free drinking water,” says Adarsh. A civil engineer, Adarsh works as an assistant coordinator with the state Suchitwa Mission.