Soon, potable river water at 50 paisa/litre in Bihar

Darbhanga (Bihar), July 14

A project that aims at making contaminated water from rivers and ponds safe for drinking and promises to make it available to people at 50 paisa per litre was launched here on Saturday by social organisation Sulabh International.

“The Sulabh Jal, which will become fully functional by December, will produce up to 8,000 litre potable water every day. The safe drinking water will be made available to consumers at 50 paisa per litre,” Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak said.

This project will be first of its kind in Bihar. He said before launching the project in Darbhanga, which houses a large number of ponds, Sulabh had undertaken a similar drive in West Bengal in collaboration with French organisation “1001 Fontaines”.

“Our pilot project, launched three years ago, in the districts of Nadia, Murshidabad and North 24 Parganas was a success. Villages in these districts, along the Indo-Bangladesh border, reported a decline in diseases caused by high arsenic content in water,” Pathak claimed.

“There is a high concentration of arsenic and other harmful chemicals in north Bihar districts bordering Nepal and this project will go a long way in bringing about a change. It will be managed by local residents and NGOs. Although installation would cost Rs 20 lakh, it will be a non-profit venture and the price of 50 paisa per litre has been fixed taking into account costs involving distribution and storage as well,” he said.

The project was launched at a pond inside the premises of the Darbhanga Nagar Nigam and the function was attended, among others, by local MLA Sanjay Saraogi. — PTI