Chennai has been reeling under a water crisis for quite some time now and a NITI Aayog report states that the city, along with 20 others, may run out of water by 2020.
In such testing times, what the city and the country in general needs is a hero and Dayanand Krishnan is just that.
The 45-year-old Chennai man has made a rainwater harvesting system that requires no plumber and costs only Rs 250. A resident of Chitlapakkam, he created the apparatus using common products such as a drum, PVC pipe bends, PVC pipe, and a cloth filter worth Rs 20.
According to a report by The Better India, Krishnan could collect 225 litre of water using it in just 10 minutes.
Since Krishnan already owned a drum, he only had to buy the three-feet PVC pipe and the pipe bends. He attached the pipes to his 400 square feet terrace, which is where all the water collects. He connected the rear end of the pipe to the drum and secured it with the cloth filter.
Although the initial water collected had a tint since it was collecting the dirt off the ground, the cloth pipe attached to the end ensured that the impurities don’t make their way all the way to the end.
Speaking about the success of the apparatus, he said: “Every terrace and most balconies have an exit pipe attached. I only secured the end of the pipes so that the water collects in the drums. I put a cloth filter for obvious reasons. When Chennai welcomed the heavy rainfalls on June 26, the rainwater harvesting system did its job.”
Krishnan mentioned that his area receives municipal water just once a week, which was not proving sufficient for his family. However, with the new storage system, their daily chores requiring water such as cleaning the house, clothes, and utensils, flushing excreta, etc, are taken care of.
While the middle-aged engineer is a shining example of how little steps taken to conserve water can take us a long way, he is not the only one who deserves a special mention.
For instance, a group of people from Chennai harvested 30,000 litres of water within one hour when it rained. The residents of this community, who reside in Sabari Terrace apartment, use the water collected hence for three months every year.
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