The Hindu : Front Page : Water testing kits for schools soon

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Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
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Water testing kits for schools soon

R. Sairam

— Photo: G. Moorthy

DO–IT–YOURSELF: School students get a briefing on how a water testing kit works, in Madurai on Wednesday.

MADURAI: All the 8,600-odd government middle, higher and higher secondary schools in the State are set to receive ‘water testing kits’ to empower students to determine the drinking water quality.

The Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage (TWAD) Board, through which this project is being implemented, has completed supplying the kits to all the 12,619 panchayats and 385 panchayat unions free of cost. K. Sai Prasad, Director of Communication and Capacity Development Unit, a wing of TWAD board, told The Hindu here on Wednesday that the exercise was a part of the Centre’s ‘National rural drinking water quality monitoring and surveillance programme’ to ensure availability of potable drinking water for all.

The testing kit was indigenously developed by the TWAD Board and patented, he said. Demonstration of the kits for school students commenced in Madurai and would be held in other districts soon. The entire project cost was being borne by the Centre and Rs. 6.3 crore sanctioned for training and creating awareness and Rs. 4.7 crore for manufacturing the kits, he said. The ultimate objective was to monitor the quality of all water sources in the State, especially in villages where multiple sources of water such as borewell, hand pumps and wells existed.

Trained students could test the quality of water and, if found unfit for consumption, panchayat presidents, who had already received training, could directly approach TWAD Board, he said.

On Wednesday, around 100 Standard IX students of Government schools in Madurai East, West and Tirupparankundram panchayat unions were given training to determine the water parameters such as pH value residual chlorine and Total Dissolved Solids, said Syed Sulaiman, Regional Manager.

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