In a new initiative towards water conservation and environmental protection, the Indian Railways has installed an ‘atmospheric water generator’ in the Secunderabad Railway Station. The machine, called ‘Meghdoot’ uses moisture-laden air to collect water, passes it through filtration stages and remineralises it for consumption.
The information was shared by Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal on Twitter.
Conserve Water, Conserve Life: Railways introduces 'Meghdoot' device to harvest water directly from air, which is then filtered & remineralised for drinking
Installed at Secunderabad Railway Station in Telangana, the हवा का पानी complies with World Health Organisation standards pic.twitter.com/lSWqDkf8WB
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 17, 2019
Meghdoot has been built under the Make in India initiative of the Indian government by Maithri Aquatech. It harvests water from air in a series of steps: the machine sucks in air through an air-filter. The moisture-laden air is passed over condenser surfaces from where the water is collected by the machine. It’s noteworthy that Meghdoot produces water that complies with standards set forth by the World Health Organisation and can produce 1000 Litres of water every day.
Water from this atmospheric water generator is priced within a range of ₹2 to ₹8, with 1L of water priced at ₹8 with a bottle and ₹5 if the customer brings their own bottle. For a 300mL glass, a customer will have to pay ₹3 with a container and ₹2 if they bring their own glass/container for the water. Similarly, ₹5 will get you a 500mL glass of water or you can bring your own glass and get 500mL water for ₹3.
It’s great to see the Indian Railways take initiatives such as this one under its green initiatives and water conservation measures, and this is definitely something that should be expanded to more railway stations across the country.