“Water, water, every where,
 Nor any drop to drink.”

 

THAT was the sorry state of the residents in the coastal villages of Dhanser, Pinjarat and Bhandut in Olpad located around 15-20 km from L&T’s Hazira campus in Gujarat. The villagers here are solely dependent on agriculture and livestock management for livelihood.

 

Although the Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board (GWSSB) has adequate capacity, for want of required water infrastructure the concerned gram panchayats in Olpad were compelled to supply water to the villages only for 45 minutes, twice a week.

 

In stepped L&T, with one of its key areas of CSR focus being water and sanitation. It analysed and mapped the requirements, and constructed an underground water sump with pumphouse in each of the three villages. The storage capacity of the newly built facilities stand at:  Dhanser: 280,000 litres, Pinjarat: 350,000 litres and Bhandut: 315,000 litres.

 

The facilities were formally handed over to the villagers on 24 June in the presence of Union minister of state for Railways & Textiles Ms Darshana Jardosh and Olpad MLA Mr Mukesh Patel. Key officials from L&T’s Hazira campus, including Mr Atik Desai (VP & CAO) and Mr Rashid Hashim (VP, L&T-MHI Power Boilers Pvt Ltd), did the honours.

 

With the commissioning of the water sumps and pumphouses, the gram panchayats concerned will now be able to supply water to the village households for 30-45 minutes every day. This will be mainly for drinking and fulfilling other domestic requirements. 

 

Essential and eternal, these facilities will benefit generations of the villagers, thus furthering L&T’s endeavour to empower people by restoring, developing, and expanding efficiency of eco-friendly infrastructure for a better life.