Free water ATMs are being set up across Tirupur, famous as the knitwear capital of India in Tamil Nadu, to provide clean, drinking water to the public at some of the thickly populated areas of this textile city.
RC Tirupur South, RID 3203, has set up the first ATM in July 2024 when its then president K Mohanasundaram, who conceived the project, took office. “We installed the first ATM costing ₹4.5 lakh through member contributions. It is in front of Tirupur Rotary Hall. Later, we applied for a global grant in partnership with the Rotary E-Club of Greater Sydney, RID 9685, and will be installing 14 more water ATMs at prime localities in the city,” he says.
With a population of 12 lakh, including floating people, Tirupur faces acute water scarcity due to “depleting groundwater and rapid pollution of existing sources by industrial effluents. Those from low-income backgrounds struggle to access clean drinking water, and are thus exposed to various health problems which is an additional burden to them,” explains Mohanasundaram.
The club tied up with two vendors — Aqua Care Systems and King Aqua — to set up water ATMs which primarily consist of an RO filter unit and a water dispensing system. Each machine has a capacity to deliver 1,000 litres per hour, and the club has signed a five-year AMC with the vendors.
Every week, company officials inspect the ATMs to “check if the systems are working well, and if not, they replace the spare parts. Also, every month they change the filtration membranes if they are overworked,” says the club president. “Now that we got $50,000 sanctioned as global grant, that includes $33,000 given by our members, the remaining 14 ATMs are being set up at bus stands, government medical college and hospital, vegetable market, collectorate office, and three government schools,” he says. “We will complete the project by August-end.”
Expressing thanks to the Tirupur municipal corporation, he says, “all the ATM sites, water and electrical supply are being provided by the civic body which has been extremely helpful to us.” Ramachandran, 70, a staff at the Rotary Hall, says, “around 150 poor families depend entirely on the water ATM for their daily needs.” Palaniammal, a housemaid, adds: “We used to consume untreated and contaminated water and were susceptible to diseases. Now, we have purified water which is much safer for our health.”
Project Rotary Pure Water is being showcased with billboards across this textile hub lifting the public image of the club.
Green canopies were set up at two major junctions in Tirupur to shield commuters from summer heat and offer relief to motorists waiting for traffic signal.
Weekly project president
Every week, a club member is selected as project president and he does at least a couple of projects or initiatives in a day with the help of others. “We also do a wellness project daily, and our annual slogan is Nammaal mudiyum (We can). I had submitted to the club’s board in May 2024, the 52 weeks schedule, and thanks to members’ cooperation, we have done 730 service projects worth ₹9.5 crore, touching around one million lives,” he says with a smile of satisfaction.