Bagepalli has spawned a flourishing business in 20-litre cans of RO-processed water.

For a population of perhaps 1.5 lakh, there are 8-10 suppliers of 20 litre cans in the town, selling each at Rs 20 a can. They supply both in rural and urban areas.

This is despite a public-private partnership arrangement between the Karnataka government and the private supplier, under which these cans are supposed to be sold at Rs 4 a litre. The government and private players equally share the cost of setting up a reverse osmosis plant of Rs 7-9 lakh.

Says Nagaraj: “Vested interests don’t want to disturb this arrangement. Those who cannot afford to pay Rs 20 for a can succumb to flourosis.”

Therefore, one such plant, set up by Sai Water Purifiers, was lying dysfunctional in a village about 4 km from Bagepalli.

The state government is setting up 687 water purification plants through PPPs, most of them for deflouridisation. Of these, about 180 are operational.

The companies which have entered into a PPP with the government to set up RO plants are: Smaat Aqua Tech Pvt Ltd, Water Life India Pvt Ltd, and Sai Water Treatment. Of these, about 15 Sai Water Treatment plants with a capacity of 500 litres per hour (LPH) have been set up in Chickballapur and Kolar districts.

The West Bengal government plans to set up 95 arsenic treatment units to treat underground water. The Public Health and Engineering Department official said: “We have already tied up with one company and we hope to make this operational in the next one year,” the official said.

Will the Bagepalli experience repeat itself?

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