Assam group’s ‘Paani Campaign’ covers 3,000 flood-hit villagers

Flood-affected residents use a makeshift raft to navigate through inundated areas while shifting belongings in Sivasagar. File

An Assam organisation has taken charge of seven flood-hit villages in Charaideo district for water-related issues, covering about 3,000 villagers under its Paani Campaign.

Charaideo and Sivasagar were two of the worst-affected districts when floods ravaged several eastern Assam districts in July. These two districts accounted for the bulk of the 82 people who died by August 1.

Jeevan Initiative, a volunteer-run group, provided a specially designed water treatment device to each family in Chala-Garmur Basti, Halmaspara and Banhbari villages with financial support from individual donors. Four other villages—Khana Grant, Na-Gaon, Gajibil and Gultup-Barahi Grant—were covered in collaboration with IDBI Bank under its corporate social responsibility programme.

Suresh Ranjan Goduka, the managing trustee of Jeevan Initiative, said volunteers will monitor the impact of the intervention over the five-year warranty period of the devices and beyond, tracking key indicators in the villages and undertaking further community activities.

He said Jeevan Initiative undertook similar programmes in flood-hit villages in Goalpara and Morigaon districts in the past.

“As floodwaters receded, rural areas [of Charaideo] faced a second humanitarian crisis: the lack of clean drinking water. While bottled water is an immediate relief, it increases plastic pollution and is unaffordable in the long run,” Mr. Goduka said.

“Submerged tube wells, groundwater and other traditional water sources spread waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis. As a result, the villagers are economically exhausted, along with the loss of life and health. Therefore, it is very important to be self-reliant in drinking water,” he said.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology developed these water-treatment or filtration units for the flood-hit villagers. The units were engineered for the high-turbidity water typical of floods.

“The units are gravity-based and need no electricity, and they can purify ambient water from sources such as rivers, ponds and wells. They meet the requirements for drinking and cooking water,” a Jeevan Initiative volunteer said.

Built on Terafil technology, the units remove bacteria, turbidity and iron, maintain a neutral pH and preserve essential minerals. Made of food-grade polypropylene, they need only simple cleaning and no annual maintenance contract.

The Department of Science and Technology and the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology tested and certified the units.

“Because daily filtration is not a traditional practice in many rural pockets, the campaign pairs permanent household-level hardware with a behavioural change component. A team of our volunteer coordinators went to the villages and handed over these devices to a member of each household, explained their operation and maintenance procedures and spoke about water, hygiene and healthy lives,” Mr Goduka said.