Hyderabad: Clean water is a luxury for many people living in remote villages of the country. When technology has advanced so much that it can make people travel to distant planets in the solar syatem, why can't it help people access clean water? An answer to this question led Dr. Vibha Tripathi to work hard to come up with a solution. Dr. Tripathi, an IITian invested her mettle and came up with WaterATM to make clean water affordable to everyone.
Tripathi was born and brought up in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. She studied at IIT Kanpur and began her career as a professor at the same institute. She was happy with her job, but her interest in 'Flexible Organic Solar Cells' changed her destiny. She knew that her calling was somewhere else. She resigned from her job in pursuit of opportunities in solar energy.
Soon she set up Saurya Enertech, a company primarily engaged in organising workshops, training, and seminars on the use of solar energy. Back then, solar energy was a new thing. Tripathi said, "I travelled to rural areas and slums due to my work. I realised that basic commodity like water is a luxury for people there. Accessibility to clean water was a major concern for people there. Getting clean water requires people to walk great distances. I wanted to solve this problem."
In 2011, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) shortlisted her proposal for a solar energy-based water purifier. These water purifiers could be installed anywhere in the country. UNDP also provided funds to help Tripathi and her team develop solar energy-based water purifiers. It took two years for the team to complete the project.
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Tripathi and her team received funds of Rs 1 crore from the Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). With this money, the team designed and produced water ATMs and the machines were installed in five slums in Gurugram. Vibha's son Advait also joined her. Purified water with ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis technology is distributed through water ATMs. These water ATMs have been installed in nearly 500 villages in 18 states across the country.
The company is also exporting these water ATMs to Singapore. Water ATMs proved to be a boon for several rural villages in the country. The company then changed its name to 'Boon'. Vibha says "Water is a necessity that everyone deserves. The goal of our company is to make clean water available to as many people as possible."
