By JanaJal

JANAJAL WOW

JanaJal WOW is an IoT-based environment-friendly three-wheeler that operates on clean fuel to deliver safe drinking in every home in Ola/Uber manner. Effective use of IoT technology backed by JJSUITE tech platform made it attractive for all stakeholders as well as beneficiaries who now have ease of access to quantitative and qualitative data.

The development of the JanaJal WOW (Water on Wheels) which is considered as the ideal tool for delivery of safe water to the doorstep of households not only enhances the capacity utilization of every water ATM but also causes behavioral change and adoption of safe water as an integral part of daily survival of communities.

JanaJal WOW is one of the five innovative technology approved by the Ministry of Drinking Water for implementation under Jal Jeevan Mission across India to ensure HarGharJal.

THE CHALLENGES

Recent data from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows the water level has been depleting in Noida at an average rate of 1.5 meters every year for the past five years leading to a severe water crisis. Municipal water is also unable to cater to growing demands.

In view of lack of awareness about the water crisis, developing a mechanism to communicate and spread WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) related awareness and information at specific target locations also becomes important.

Smart water stations (JanaJal Water ATM) and decentralized water delivery via tech-enabled three-wheel vehicles (JanaJal WOW) evolved in response to the need for interventions to address the serious water problems, which had silently existed among us for several decades now.

As observed, in semi-urban and remote areas there are very limited water sources and people draw their daily drinking water from unsafe and unhygienic water points. Hence, the shift from a traditional to a technology-driven approach had a massive community-based impact on people.

BENEFICIARY SUCCESS STORY

The proactive use of responsible technology to create a positive impact can be seen, as highlighted for 13-year old, Yash. A resident of Noida Sector 45, he has been regularly consuming safe drinking water from JanaJal WOW for the last two months. With the onset of the Covid pandemic, Yash was desperately looking for safer and economical alternatives to drinking water, which was previously sourced from a local water filling station. He was introduced to the safe water point (JanaJal Water ATM) and JanaJal WOW by one of his friends, since then Yash and his family have regularly been ordering safe drinking water to be delivered at his doorsteps.

He has continued to benefit, not only because the water much is more economical as compared to the other sources, but has also benefited his uncle who is a severe asthma patient and has observed a marked improvement in health and vitality since their family started consuming water from JanaJal. His family found the water to be safer than the traditional bore-well water that other suppliers tend to provide. Additionally, the need to boil water has also been eliminated due to the pre-filtered high-quality water which is periodically tested at NABL accredited lab on a periodic basis.

As mentioned, Yash has not only saved money per canister water purchased but his domestic gas and electricity bills have also gone down significantly due to decreased use of Natural Gas/ LPG for the mundane yet necessary pasteurization job at home. With continued orientation and awareness spread via hand-outs and by JanaJal WOW operator, our young beneficiary is now also fully aligned with the Go-Green mantra associated with all of the JanaJal water ATMs and JanaJal WOW, reducing the dependence on unsecured water sources and expensive packaged drinking water.

Yash appreciates the fact that his continued efforts to refill water from JanaJal WOW have also helped reduce plastic consumption. Not only is he willing to now use his own Food Grade canister, but also promotes the same to all his friends and family knowing the ecological and economic benefits. He has also directed his friend, who operates a water vending cart to come and fill up water from the JanaJal campus only, due to the associated time and cost benefits.

The overall impact on the end-users’ life (social impact) as a result of JanaJal WOW:

Better Health and Wellness
Unpackaged safe water has eliminated the interface of plastic from water during the storage and distribution chain thus eliminating causes for deadly diseases such as kidney failures and even cancer.

Reduced Generation of Single-Use Plastic
Protecting the environment, saving of time and effort for women and children who have usually been entrusted the task of fetching water for their households.

Considerable Reduction in Energy Consumption
With safe treated water now being delivered to our beneficiaries, they are no longer required to boil or pasteurize drinking water. They save substantial time with reduced travel time to the safe water point and also don’t have to spend on big containers to store their water since JanaJal WOW delivers water on an ongoing basis and even subscription basis for many customers.

Creating Employment
JanaJal WOW also enables the creation of jobs and social entrepreneurship opportunities, democratizing society through equitable availability of safe water.

About the Contributor

JanaJal is Asia’s premier tech-enabled water services company that is working to make “Right to Safe Water” a reality in the lives of people. Founded by Dr. Parag Agarwal, JanaJal has received national and global recognition for its contribution in reducing the single-use plastic bottles that is considered to be the biggest contaminant to the environment globally. Over the past 8 years, over 100 million liters of safe water have been dispensed to millions of people through various clusters of water ATMs installed through association with public bodies and corporates and with the support from local administrative bodies. It presently has over 750 water ATMs and safe water points operating across India, all of which are remotely managed and supervised in real-time through secure cloud servers that help monitor the quality and quantity of safe water dispensed besides enabling cashless transactions by consumers using UPI and 122 e-wallets through a single QR-code.

This case study was published in the annual “Finest-50 Global Case Studies” Special Digital Edition, March-April 2022. Click here to read the complete e-Magazine issue.

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