Safe Water Network partners with Honeywell to provide safe drinking water

Safe Water Network and Honeywell have partnered to provide safe drinking water access to 90,000 people in water quality affected communities across Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, and Gondia districts of Maharashtra. The first of 30 planned safe water stations was launched at the Government Medical College and Hospital by Nanaji Sitaram Shamkule, Member of Legislative Assembly, Chandrapur, and Dr Kunal Khemnar, IAS, District Collector and District Magistrate, Chandrapur.

Funded by a Honeywell India grant and implemented by Safe Water Network, the water stations – called iJal stations – will be community led and operated.

Nanaji Sitaram Shamkule says, “It is encouraging to see women self-help groups operating and maintaining social water enterprises. I believe that when the women of the country are empowered, the country progresses.”

Dr Kunal Khemnar comments, “This initiative is a great example of how the government, private sector, and civil society can join hands to help fulfill some of the basic needs of the people. By establishing the first water station at the hospital, we are not only providing affordable safe water to the patients and their attendants but also to the neighboring local community.”

Ravindra Sewak, Country Director, Safe Water Network, says, “At Safe Water Network, we want to empower local communities by skilling them to manage their own source of safe drinking water. We do this systematically through established social engineering process, technical innovation, and strong governance. Reliability of services and sustainability of operations are the hallmark of our initiative.”

Akshay Bellare, President - Honeywell India says, “These safe water stations use world-class multi-stage water treatment systems to purify water. They feature cutting-edge remote monitoring systems and process rigor to minimize downtime. Our partnership with Safe Water Network ensures engagement at all levels of the targeted community for social, financial, and environmental sustainability.”

These water stations have 24x7 anytime water machines (ATM), which can dispense clean, affordable drinking water using RFID cards for cashless transactions or coin dispensing.

Safe Water Network and Honeywell have already built 150 safe water stations across 17 districts in Telangana, serving half a million people.