Piramal Sarvajal partners with Department of Irrigation and Public Health (DI&PH) to launch the first water ATM in Shimla

Piramal Sarvajal aims at providing 24x7 service through a one of its kind eco-friendly purified drinking water solution at an affordable cost

Shimla, July 28, 2014: Piramal Sarvajal, an initiative under Piramal Foundation, today inaugurated their first water ATM unit in Shimla. The honours were done by the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Mr. Virbhadra Singh at a gala event at The Ridge, Shimla. The ceremony also witnessed the presence of Smt. Vidya Stokes - I&PH Minister, Mr. Vineet Chaudhary - Additional Chief Secretary - DI&PH, Mr. Amarjeet Singh - Commissioner - MC Shimla and other senior officials.

Being the hub of India's tourism sector and amongst the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations, Shimla witness's an influx of local and international tourist visits round the year. Majority of tourists rely on expensive packaged drinking water which is then disposed along the roadside; adding to non- biodegradable waste which is hazardous to the ecosystem. The civic authorities in Shimla are thus striving hard to preserve the natural beauty while dealing with litter issues caused by the empty plastic water bottles left by tourist.
With this thought in mind, Piramal Sarvajal decided to partner with the Department of Irrigation and Public Health (DI&PH) to install a water ATM in Shimla. Basis this partnership, the Department of Irrigation and Public Health (DI&PH) will be responsible for providing water access at the site while the Municipal Corporation - Shimla and Himachal Pradesh Bus Stand Management & Development Authority shall provide access to space for the unit installation. Piramal Sarvajal will ensure proper installation; operations and maintenance of the integrated water ATM unit while also conduct IEC activities in-house for promoting safe water practices and creating awareness about water-health risks.

Mr. Paresh Parasnis, CEO-Piramal Foundation, said, "Being a tourist destination, large quantities of empty packaged water bottles on the streets of Shimla are a common sight. The reason being that there is a huge need for affordable and safe drinking water provisions at strategic tourist spots and public places in Shimla, while not littering the streets. Through this partnership with the Department of Irrigation and Public Health (DI&PH), we are extremely delighted to install the first water ATM in Shimla which will be a big step in maintaining a clean environment. Going one step ahead, we will also be providing consumers with an empty bottle which can be reused at our ATMs. This system will help the civic authorities in Shimla to deal with one less plastic bottle littered on the road." Mr. Anuj Sharma, COO-Piramal Sarvajal, said, "As tourism is the mainstay of the state's economy, this strategic alliance gives us a platform to promote safe drinking water for all visitors through a reliable and technologically advanced mechanism. Apart from providing an alternative to purchasing drinking water bottle, the project shall also assist the civic authorities to keep the tourist spots clean. Besides every time this facility dispenses water, the user saves Rs. 9/- and Shimla Municipal Corporation will have one bottle less i.e. plastic litter to clean up. Therefore we are happy to partner with the Department of Irrigation and Public Health (DI&PH) as we aim to focus our energies towards serving a broad range of consumers with the basic requirement of purified drinking water solution at an affordable cost".

Piramal Sarvajal has signed similar tripartite MoUs with various relevant stakeholders such as Dharamshala, Chintpurni (Una) and Mandi, for multiple installations across the state of Himachal Pradesh on BOMM (Build-Operate-Maintain-Manage) basis.
Piramal Sarvajal integrated its proprietary technologies which comprises of a remote sensing enabled purification plant and two automated water dispensing units (Water ATM). This helped in developing a

standalone, fully automated purification and dispensing unit for creating in-situ provision for affordable safe drinking water at such locations. The water ATM is a modular RFID controlled standalone water dispensing unit which is specifically designed to track and capture every transaction that takes place on a real time basis to avoid wastage of water. It is extremely simple to use, and like any usual ATM the customer swipes a prepaid card on the screen and chooses the amount of water he/she wishes to dispense. The water gets filtered through 5-stages and the quality is in accordance with the international drinking water quality standard i.e. ISI 10500.
Piramal Sarvajal has been dedicatedly delivering affordable and healthier solutions to the drinking water crisis in the villages and small towns of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat since 2008. The project Piramal Sarvajal that started in 2008 runs community-level water solutions including water ATMs that are today providing affordable clean drinking water to more than 141,000 people on a daily basis. Piramal Sarvajal presently operates in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In New Delhi, Piramal Sarvajal has its plants at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) for their out-patient department; a clear testament of the quality of water provided. Piramal Sarvajal is working in partnership with Delhi Jal Board to provide water to slums and settlement with no-piped water supply, this urban initiative will soon be reaching out to approximately 50,000 users.

About Piramal Foundation:

Piramal Foundation strongly believes that there are several untapped innovative solutions that can
address India's most pressing problems. Piramal Foundation plays an impactful role in implementing and
facilitating such projects. Each social project that is chosen to be funded and nurtured by the Piramal Foundation fits into one of the four broad areas - healthcare, education, livelihood creation and youth empowerment. The Foundation strives to develop transformative, scalable and replicable solutions to address issues that are critical roadblocks towards unlocking India's economic potential.

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