Provision of pure water has resulted in a marked decrease in the number of absentees BY D MADHAVAN For 3,000 students of the Government Higher Secondary School in Anakaputhur, pure drinking water is only a few steps away thanks to a water treatment plant on the premises. Allegedly the first of its kind in Kancheepuram district, the plant has been in use since December. There has been a marked decline in the number of absentees since the facility has helped provide safe water for students, thereby protecting them from sickness. We even allow students to take the purified water home, school authorities said. The facility, which costs Rs 1.5 lakh, can hold 1,000 litres of water. However, for every two litres of water taken for purification, one litre is left as wastage. Nevertheless, school authorities maintain this is used for saplings on the premises. The local body supplies the entire quantity of water for the school and electricity charges are met by the revenue allotted for the school by the State Education deparment, they added. The school, inaugurated in 1964, has 35 classrooms, including a newly tiled computer room. It is the only school available at the higher secondary level for thousands of students in Anakaputhtur municipality. Similar treatment plants are available

Travellers who don't trust the water from a mountain stream or a hotel-room faucet have often used chemicals or filters to purify it. Now they have a high-tech option as well: swirl the water with a portable, lightweight wand that beams rays of ultraviolet light. The wand can clean up a quart of water that is clear

about 250 million people in urban India drink municipal water, which is treated and disinfected before being supplied. A recent study shows the chemicals used for treatment methods might give the

After collecting water from a natural waterbody, the raw water undergoes sedimentation. During sedimentation, some particles spontaneously settle down. For particles slow to settle, chemicals

After power equipment, engineering major Thermax is strengthening its presence in the water treatment business. "If power is the theme today, we believe the next big story would be water,' said Managing Director and Chief Executive M S Unnikrishnan, in a post-press meet chat with Business Standard. The water infrastructure in SEZs and new cities could come through public-private partnership.

The Karimnagar Municipal Corporation has embarked on construction of a new filter bed at an estimated cost of Rs 1.30 crore near the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) in the town. The new water purification mechanism is being installed as part of a comprehensive plan to meet the drinking water requirements of the rapidly expanding town with a futuristic vision, sources said. Karimnagar mayor D. Shankar formally launched the construction works here on Monday.