Problem solver: #Fixit campaigner installs RO plant to meet drinking water shortage
Facility will provide water to 1,200 families per day in Moosa Goth, Khando Goth, Mujahid Colony
Facility will provide water to 1,200 families per day in Moosa Goth, Khando Goth, Mujahid Colony. FIXIT FACEBOOK PAGE
KARACHI:
To resolve the problem of fresh drinking water for residents of Moosa Goth, Khando Goth and Mujahid Colony, #Fixit campaigner Alamgir Khan has installed a reverse-osmosis (RO) water plant in the area.
Khan dedicated the plant to and named it after slain qawwal Amjad Sabri. With a capacity to fulfill the needs of around 1,200 families a day, the plant will operate eight hours a day and produce 3,000 gallons of water.
The plant has been installed by the Health Factory International and an RO incharge will be on duty at the plant daily. "The plant usually costs around Rs0.8 million but we have given it to the #Fixit campaigners without keeping any profit margin," said RO plant supplier Aijaz Ahmed Siddiqui.
He said the plant cost Rs0.5 million and will be maintained mutually by the #Fixit representatives and residents. The plant has a warranty of one year but if it is maintained properly then it can last for a lifetime, he added.
"We will install a new plant if the current one does not work properly after five or 10 years," Siddiqui promised.
RO incharge Muhammad Mukarram told The Express Tribune that the plant is purifying and filtering two gallons per minute.
Explaining how it works, he said to supply unpurified water, boring has been done to reach a depth of 200 feet. The water obtained during boring is then saved in a tank which is connected to a dissolved solid tank from where the water is transferred to the initial feed pump. Mukarram said after the pre-filtration process, it is sent to a sand filter then a carbon and cartridge filter. Lastly, the water is purified in a high-pressure pump with the help of pressure vessel membranes which help turn the water into 'soft water'. The water is finally extracted to the product or finishing tank, from where the residents can retrieve it, he said.
This plant has been only installed for drinking water; to meet the supply of water for household purposes, another two borings have been done in the area, which provide water to residents for free.
While inaugurating the plant, Khan said they are trying to help the common people and play the role of a pressure group for the state. "We will be installing 10 RO plants in areas with water shortage issues, including Malir, Khokhrapar, Baldia and the suburbs of Nazimabad," he said, adding that they have a plan to extend it to 100 RO plants. The plants have been donated by supporters and businesspeople while the water will be provided to the people at just Rs1 per litre.
Ghulam Mustafa, a longtime resident of Moosa Goth, appreciated the effort and said, "We have never seen fresh drinking water coming to our houses, we have always used 'hard water' from boring".
However, another resident, Muhammad Irfan, criticised the installation and said there are already three RO plants fitted in the area which provide a gallon of fresh water for just Rs5. He said the #Fixit plant is expensive for them. "Those RO plant managers even drop one gallon containers of water to our homes, why would we come here to use something which is comparatively far and costly for us?" he questioned.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2016.
To resolve the problem of fresh drinking water for residents of Moosa Goth, Khando Goth and Mujahid Colony, #Fixit campaigner Alamgir Khan has installed a reverse-osmosis (RO) water plant in the area.
Khan dedicated the plant to and named it after slain qawwal Amjad Sabri. With a capacity to fulfill the needs of around 1,200 families a day, the plant will operate eight hours a day and produce 3,000 gallons of water.
The plant has been installed by the Health Factory International and an RO incharge will be on duty at the plant daily. "The plant usually costs around Rs0.8 million but we have given it to the #Fixit campaigners without keeping any profit margin," said RO plant supplier Aijaz Ahmed Siddiqui.
He said the plant cost Rs0.5 million and will be maintained mutually by the #Fixit representatives and residents. The plant has a warranty of one year but if it is maintained properly then it can last for a lifetime, he added.
"We will install a new plant if the current one does not work properly after five or 10 years," Siddiqui promised.
RO incharge Muhammad Mukarram told The Express Tribune that the plant is purifying and filtering two gallons per minute.
Explaining how it works, he said to supply unpurified water, boring has been done to reach a depth of 200 feet. The water obtained during boring is then saved in a tank which is connected to a dissolved solid tank from where the water is transferred to the initial feed pump. Mukarram said after the pre-filtration process, it is sent to a sand filter then a carbon and cartridge filter. Lastly, the water is purified in a high-pressure pump with the help of pressure vessel membranes which help turn the water into 'soft water'. The water is finally extracted to the product or finishing tank, from where the residents can retrieve it, he said.
This plant has been only installed for drinking water; to meet the supply of water for household purposes, another two borings have been done in the area, which provide water to residents for free.
While inaugurating the plant, Khan said they are trying to help the common people and play the role of a pressure group for the state. "We will be installing 10 RO plants in areas with water shortage issues, including Malir, Khokhrapar, Baldia and the suburbs of Nazimabad," he said, adding that they have a plan to extend it to 100 RO plants. The plants have been donated by supporters and businesspeople while the water will be provided to the people at just Rs1 per litre.
Ghulam Mustafa, a longtime resident of Moosa Goth, appreciated the effort and said, "We have never seen fresh drinking water coming to our houses, we have always used 'hard water' from boring".
However, another resident, Muhammad Irfan, criticised the installation and said there are already three RO plants fitted in the area which provide a gallon of fresh water for just Rs5. He said the #Fixit plant is expensive for them. "Those RO plant managers even drop one gallon containers of water to our homes, why would we come here to use something which is comparatively far and costly for us?" he questioned.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2016.