In collaboration with Government of Maharashtra, Diageo India installs community water purification plants in Nagpur

23 Aug 2019 | Press release

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Excise Minister Mr. Chandrashekhar Bawankule inaugurates one of the plants

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Nagpur, 23 August 2019: Diageo, a leading beverage alcohol company, in partnership with Government of Maharashtra, has installed 25 community water purification plants in Nagpur to provide clean and safe drinking water to the locals in the areas.

State Excise Minister - Mr. Chandrashekhar Bawankule inaugurated one of the plants today in Kamptee near Nagpur. Each purification plant is further attached to Water ATMs that are easily accessible to all the residents.

The Community water purification plants provide clean drinking water to the water ATMs, an affordable source of drinking water at  Rs 5/- for 20 litres as against the Rs. 15-20/litre sold in packaged bottles. The aim of these water purification plants is to provide clean drinking water in rural areas, especially where the water is highly contaminated and not easily accessible to the community.

Speaking on the inauguration, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, Diageo India said, “Access to safe and clean drinking water is increasingly becoming a critical concern for many communities.  In line with our commitment to build thriving communities, Diageo is working with varied stakeholders to offer sustainable solutions in areas of water security, health and education, in order to address their immediate and long-term needs.”

So far, Diageo India has contributed to community building by introducing 25 (in 1st Phase) water purification plants in 10 villages of Nagpur which provides 12,500 litres per hour benefitting over 45,000 people. Globally, Diageo’s Water of Life programme has reached over 10 million people in 21 countries since 2006, making a real impact on vulnerable communities.

State Excise Minister, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, said, “Our basic aim is to provide clean drinking water to our people. These purification plants are definitely a life changer to the citizens providing access to clean drinking water. We thank Diageo for their support on this initiative.

The community water purification plants will source water from bore wells provided by the gram panchayat and will be processed through reverse osmosis (RO) and ultraviolet purifiers. The villagers are provided prepaid ATM like cards which can be utilized at the water ATM machines. Additionally, these machines are being handed over to women's self-help groups for maintenance and also as an extra source of income.