From birthday savings to clean water: Dubai teen’s solar project reaches 3,000 in UP village
Vehaan (centre) and others during the construction work of the plant From birthday savings to clean water: Dubai teen’s solar project reaches 3,000 in UP village From birthday savings to clean water: Dubai teen’s solar project reaches 3,000 in UP village Vehaan (centre) and others during the construction work of the plant From birthday savings to clean water: Dubai teen’s solar project reaches 3,000 in UP village From birthday savings to clean water: Dubai teen’s solar project reaches 3,000 in UP village Lucknow: Growing up in Dubai, 18-year-old Vehaan Subramanian had rarely needed to think about whether the water coming from a tap was safe to drink. He said the reading club alone helped raise around 7,000 dirhams for charitable causes. The result of his efforts was Project ARUNA, a solar-powered water treatment plant at Parsiya village in Palia block of Lakhimpur Kheri, designed to treat around 2,000 litres of groundwater every hour and serve more than 3,000 residents belonging to over 1,000 families. Vehaan, a student of Class 12 in Dubai College, said as he grew up with dependable drinking water, he took it for granted. Arsenic concentration in the untreated water sample was 0.026 mg/litre. After filtration, it was below 0.005 mg/litre, or below the laboratory’s detection limit. Turbidity dropped from 2.61 NTU to nil and fluoride from 0.515 mg/litre to 0.16 mg/litre. The untreated sample was tested on Sept 10 at an EIAC-accredited laboratory in Dubai, while the treated water was tested on Sept 18 at a NABL-accredited laboratory in Lucknow.
The system was deliberately designed so that residents can maintain it without specialised technical skills. Because of legal restrictions, he said, and govt land was instead identified in neighbouring Parsiya, land could not be provided there. Because golbhoji becomes difficult to access by vehicle during the rain, complicating transportation of large pipes and filtration equipment, the switch also solved a logistical problem.
Iron and sulphate in the treated sample were also reported below detection limits. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in Lucknow Stay updated with the latest Lucknow news.
“I funded half of the first plant,” Vehaan told TOI, adding that much of his contribution came from savings, including money received on birthdays. Vehaan said they supported the initiative and shared his belief in giving back to India. Vehaan, who studies mathematics, physics, economics along with other subjects, said his research identified Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal among the areas badly affected by arsenic contamination. “I designed a water filter that could be used specifically in these villages because it runs on solar power,” he said. Vehaan said he contacted several arsenic-affected districts after studying water-quality reports. “Project ARUNA is an encouraging example of public-private and citizen participation, where Indian citizens are supporting and complementing Jal Nigam’s efforts to improve drinking-water infrastructure,” Maurya said. He said that such initiatives could encourage more young Indians to use their knowledge and skills to address community needs. Jal Nigam is also considering grant of necessary permission for a second Project ARUNA installation at Golbhoji, he said. “Seeing residents use the treated water has been the most meaningful part of this journey,” he said, describing it as a chance to connect his interest in science with “giving back to the country my family comes from.
A video showing communities struggling with arsenic-contaminated groundwater in India changed that assumption and eventually took the high school student from research papers and laboratory data to a remote village in Uttar Pradesh . Along the way, money saved from birthdays and funds raised through a reading club he ran for younger students in Dubai became part of the effort. Vehaan financed about half of his first water treatment plant from his personal savings, while the remainder came through fundraising. ARUNA, a Hindi synonym for the glow of the rising sun, stands for Arsenic Removal Using Non-Regenerative Adsorption. Watching the video on arsenic contamination prompted him to study groundwater data and explore possible solutions. His parents, Sarika and Subramanian, both studied engineering and now run a business in Dubai. His mother is from Pune while his father is from Tamil Nadu. He then began designing a filtration system suited to villages where electricity and specialised technical support may be difficult to access. Laboratory reports supplied by Project ARUNA provide an early measure of the system’s performance. Turning the design into a functioning plant required months of emails, govt permissions, travel and construction. Lakhimpur Kheri was the first administration to respond. The project was subsequently developed in coordination with UP Jal Nigam and the district administration. The administration helped provide suitable govt land at Parsiya. Chief development officer Abhishek Kumar supported the initiative at the district level, while Jal Nigam executive engineer Manoj Maurya provided technical and departmental assistance. Gram pradhan Laxman Prasad Rana helped coordinate with residents. Maurya described the initiative as an example of citizens working alongside govt institutions on drinking-water infrastructure. Golbhoji had, in fact, been Vehaan’s original choice for the first plant. Download the TOI App.
Construction and commissioning began in the second week of Aug and the plant was completed on Sept 6. The project estimates treatment costs at around 1.5 paise per litre over a 10-year operating period, to be borne by Vehaan. It stands next to the village’s govt school and primary healthcare centre, in an area described in project documents as having limited electricity access. Vehaan travelled to India when the project was underway. In June-July, he visited Kolkata to examine and source filtration components, accompanied by Prof Pradeep Myanmar of Delhi University’s South Campus. He claimed to have also received academic guidance for the project from Prof Sanjeev Chaudhari of IIT Bombay, Prof Alexander Gladilin of Moscow State University, Russia, and Prof Case Van Genutchen of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). He subsequently visited Parsiya during construction and solar-panel installation and returned for the final assembly. Some equipment was transported from Lucknow by road. Villagers have been trained to operate and maintain the plant, while periodic testing is planned to monitor water quality. For Vehaan, however, seeing villagers actually draw water from a project that began with a video and research on his computer has been the bigger payoff.