This carmaker sells cars AND dishes out water too! Check out what the auto maker is up to

As part of its Community Development plan, Maruti Suzuki on Monday inaugurated a water ATM in Manesar village, which is the largest village among the company’s adopted villages with a population exceeding 1 lakh residents.

The auto major has set up 10 Water ATMs in its adopted villages in Haryana under its village development initiative. These Water ATMs have cumulatively dispensed around 5 lakh litres of safe drinking water benefitting the residents, the company said in a press release. 

 “Access to safe drinking water was one of the key issues highlighted during our need assessment with the community. This prompted us to set up Water ATMs that facilitate access to safe drinking water at affordable cost," said A K Tomer, Executive Director, Corporate Planning, Maruti Suzuki India.  

"We started this initiative in 2016 and over the years the community has seen a fall in water borne diseases. We are happy that Manesar village panchayat invited us to set up this new Water ATM facility. We are happy that Manesar village too gets the benefits of this facility,” he added.

Supported by Maruti Suzuki and set up by Waterlife India, the Water ATM facility is built on self-sustaining model. 

Maruti Suzuki has borne the initial project cost. The Manesar village panchayat has provided the land and is the project owner. The panchayat will provide the water and electricity to run the ATM. 

Waterlife India will undertake operations and maintenance of the plant for a period of ten years, and will sell water at a nominal rate of 35 paisa per litre, Rs 7 for 20 litres.

The Water ATM has a capacity to generate 1000 litres of drinking water per hour, informed Maruti in the press release. The 10 stage UV filtration technology by Waterlife ensures the water meets WHO and ISO10500 standards and retains essential minerals, the release added. 

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The technology also helps in minimal water rejection: only 25 per cent compared to conventional water purification systems. This minimal wastage of water helps to lower the per litre cost.

Community Development is one of the three important pillars of Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives– the other two being in the areas of road safety and skill development.

 Maruti Suzuki has adopted 26 villages around its facilities in Gujarat and Haryana.