Highlights:
- According to Chandrasekaran, RO (Reverse osmosis) systems can waste 80% of water with a 20-30 percent recovery rate.
- Most of the mineral water that is available comes under 60-70 TDS. It is a big bane and a problem because all essential minerals are removed from drinking water.
- “In places like North East and West Bengal arsenic should be removed and places like Nalgonda fluoride should be removed. So these types, I call selective dissolved solids, should be removed instead of removing all TDS in water. That is the reason there is no need to run RO plants if the TDS is below 2000.”
- “Watsan filters are based on micro filtration or nano filtration where clay and sand sintered method tested by IMMT (Institute of Mineral and Materials Technology)-CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) gives you the
Natural Terafil filter without losing minerals in clean drinking water” - “We are seeking every rural entrepreneur and youth who are looking for employment to involve in marketing our filters. They can take either large or small capacity filters to own water purifier plants in their villages.
“We have more than 3 lakhs happy customers while serving region-specific water filters across India. Arsenic contamination is high in Bihar and West Bengal and fluoride is identified in many states especially in Telangana (Nalgonda), north Karnataka, Rajasthan etc. So these types, I call selective dissolves or solids should be removed instead of removing all TDS in water. That is the reason there is a no need to run RO plants if the TDS is below 2000.
We are the only company with tailor-made water filters to address region-specific drinking water problems. We have arsenic, fluoride and pesticide removal filters, etc. We have region-specific water filters. We are good in manufacturing which help us identify exact problems and develop various variants like arsenic removal filters and fluoride removal filters in quick succession rate. This is a micro filtration or nano filtration where clay and sand sintered method tested by IMMT (Institute of Mineral and Materials Technology)-CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) gives you the Natural Terafil filter without losing minerals in clean drinking water,” tells Chandrasekaran who is a CEO of Watsan EnviroTech Pvt.Ltd.
Chandrasekaran is a pioneer in the prototyping, design and manufacturing industry with more than three decades of working experience. These experiences helped him to develop watsan natural filters. The filtering candles of these filters are made of nano-clay material and as it is a nano technology based product, the process goes on without wasting the water.
According to Chandrasekaran, RO (Reverse osmosis) systems can waste 80% of water and most household RO (Reverse osmosis) systems are designed with a 20-30 percent recovery rate. For instance, when 100 gallons/day of untreated water is fed into it and a 20 percentage recovery rate will be 20 gallons/day of treated water and dispose 80 gallons/day in the waste stream.
“When I visited villages for documentation of ancient temples, I was not allowed to stay back. I wondered why they did not allow me to stay back. Why is there no good hospitality? or no friendly gestures in villages? Then I realized water and sanitation is the problem in these villages that made them behave differently. This motivated me to quit my job and start Watsan. Watsan stands for Wat – Water and San – Sanitation” told chandrasekaran.
“In Telangana, IDO (Indigenous Development Organization) NGO runs a pilot study in Kothaguda village. In that village tribal people haven’t seen water in transparent form. Whatever they saw earlier was orange-colored water. First time they saw water in transparent colour and they shouted in joy. Water is potable after removing pathogens, heavy metals, odour, colour and turbidity. Slowly from 500 to 600, with the amount pitched by donors we were able to supply filters to 1000 households in the village. Seeing the impact of the filters, akula venkata ramana, a tribal officer, said they have some budget and placed orders for some filters”.
“Whatever the money we earned through selling the products we ploughed back into new variant development. We understand the pain of water problems. Understanding and solving the problem is our unique selling point. We understand the problem of the Nalgonda district fluoride issue. I was the first to go to the village, to the water manufacturer, chemical manufacturer and to the school. We understood the problem and donated three filters and
they are using it. That’s the secret of making this business successful. Because we do for the people, by the people. They are the ones who support us. We don’t depend on big dealers, our unique model is that we supply through NGOs, self-help groups or rural entrepreneurs.
“We are in the list of accredited water purifiers, by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. However, the biggest challenge is the way the Indian government understands and classifies water and water needs. Water Purifiers are classified in a funny industrial machine category as Industrial liquid and gas purification machines”.
The government is the one that can really help with new ideas and new cost effective methods, however most government tender, have a description of the type or the design of a water purification plant based on RO plants’ design are given priority. Rather the government should specify that any method or any technology which can purify water to meet the potable standards, as per IS 10500. This filtration process is necessary in bringing the eligible people to the tender process. Even though we have initiatives like Startup India, Made in India, I feel the government should fine tune the needs and specifications to bring such innovative ventures to the fore-front.”
We want to reach out to every village. We are seeking every rural entrepreneur and youth who are looking for employment to involve in marketing our filters. They can take either large or small capacity filters to own water purifier plants in their villages. We are ready to offer products at attractive prices. We will train women to test the waters with small and inexpensive kits instead of depending on the government lab” adds Chandrasekaran while envisioning a clean drinking water dream for everyone.
The journey of a Watsan Filter is a great example, how an individual’s connection with nature will open gates for human friendly green innovations.
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Photo courtesy: watsan filters
website: www.watsan.in
Thanks @ecopreneur for publishing our story