CSR: Karnataka villages to get water ATMs

With an aim to provide easy access to safe and clean drinking water, Bengaluru-based Boson Whitewater has partnered with NGO SGBS Unnati Foundation to install water ATMs across villages in Karnataka. The projects have been funded by ExxonMobil and Broadridge under their CSR initiative. Till date, 10 water ATMs have been installed in Malur and Doddaballapur villages on the outskirts of Bengaluru and and over 1500+ families now have access to clean drinking water. 

Unnati Foundation, a skilling organization for underprivileged youth across various states, assist villages in setting up Water ATMs to provide safe drinking water to rural communities. Recently, a few village panchayats in Malur and Doddaballapur villages approached Unnati for help in enabling safe drinking water for their communities. Few of the areas were affected by heavy fluoride water contamination causing health issues in many families.

This collaboration is a great example of how social ventures and private players can collaborate for the greater good of the community

Ramesh Swamy, Director, Unnati Foundation

In response, Unnati reached out to Boson Whitewater, a company with experience in similar projects, which decided to join the effort to contribute and work towards achieving the goal of providing safe water to various rural villages. After assessing the location proposed Boson Whitewater installed water ATMs and provided Water ATM cards to the Panchayat.

Each family is issued a Water Card with Rs.50 preloaded on it, which can be swiped to dispense 20 litres of water. To ensure the sustainability of the program, a nominal charge of Rs.5 per 20-litre per can of water is levied. The financial support for the project has been provided by ExxonMobil and Broadridge. 

Ramesh Swamy, Director, Unnati Foundation, said, “This collaboration is a great example of how social ventures and private players can collaborate for the greater good of the community. Through our joint efforts, more people in rural communities can now have easy access to safe and clean drinking water, which is essential for health and well-being.” 

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Vikas Brahmavar, CEO and Co-Founder, Boson Whitewater, said, “At Boson Whitewater, our overarching goal is to use our technology to create easy access to clean water. We look for opportunities like this that allows us to make a huge difference to communities that find it difficult to access clean water. We are excited about our partnership with Unnati Foundation and look forward to implementing more projects together in the future.”

Over the next few months, more Water ATMs will be installed across various villages in Karnataka.