Thematic Area: Water & Sanitation
Project Guide(s): Mr. Ramesh Guntha, Mr. Nitin Kumar, Mr. Audithya V., Mr. Harikrishnan, Mr. Aravind, Br. Vikram, Mr. Sreekanth, and Mr. Tinu, Center for Wireless Networks and Applications
Amrita Partners: 1st year PhD students, Center for Wireless Networks & Applications
Village: Guptapada, Orissa
Project Duration: 4 months
Identified Challenge & Aim:
For many villagers in India, collecting and carrying water is part of their daily routine. However, villagers often have to walk several kilometers to collect water necessary for themselves and their families, sometimes walking several times a day. Many villagers, especially women, collect and carry between 200 and 500 liters of water per day for their families and cattle.Recognizing the hardship of the villagers, faculty, staff, and students from the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications and Amrita Self Reliant Villages (ASeRve) worked together to build a water distribution system for more effective water use and management.
The Study/Innovation:
The team conducted semi-structured interviews to understand social, cultural, economic, political, environmental, and technological factors and features in the village. They also went around the village and made a resource map which gave the team a clear picture of the sustainable resources available in the village and helped them understand the quantity of the resources available. The team and villagers then had several group discussions and meetings resulting in a modular design for a water distribution system. They decided to design it in a way so that water is distributed through a pipe system which connects to an overhead Sintex steel water tank that currently stores 5,000 liters of water. To lay out the pipe network, the team and villagers manually dug two trenches– one 700 meters long and 2 feet deep and another 550 meters long and 1 foot deep. The entire group also dug the foundation pit for the water tank’s steel structure. Plans are in place to build another 5,000 liter water tank in the future and to commence water conservation awareness initiatives in the village. Clocking in over 16,000 hours, the team, along with the villagers, installed a piping network, 37 taps, and a 5,000 liter water tanks. Water is now easily accessible to all 62 homes.
