DUBAI: A Dubai-based NRI doctor who is also an entrepreneur has initiated a campaign in his native state to promote preservation of water using a cheap rain harvesting device made by a local Keralite, amid acute drinking water crisis in Kerala during summers. Azad Moopen, who heads the DM Healthcare, a leading healthcare conglomerate in the Middle East, believes that the current water shortage in Kerala can easily be solved even if a small section of the population preserves the rain water that goes into the Arabian Sea due to the peculiar slanting topography of the state, the Khaleej Times report said.

Moopen decided to test it out in his home village of Kalpakanchery, where the wells and ponds dry by January every year. People in the village have been sourcing water from far off places in tankers paying Rs 600 for 2,000 litres. Moopen found a cheaper solution in an indigenous rain harvesting device, developed by Perumalparampil Jaleel, that seeks to harvest rain water from rooftops. Under the system, rain water from the roof is sourced to a plastic drum through PVC pipes. The drum acts as a filter as it is filled with pure river sand, charcoal and baby metal.

After filtering, the harvested rain water is driven to the well through another PVC pipe. In most cases, the water stored in the well is enough to meet the dry season demand. Moopen’s campaign to propagate the device has evoked massive response from the villagers, who are now queuing up to install the device in their homes, the report said, adding that 4-5 well recharging filters were being installed on a daily basis now. Kerala’s acute drinking water crisis is surprising to many because the state, with 50,000 million cubic metres of fresh water in 44 rivulets, 19 lakes, more than 900 ponds, and 300cm rainfall for 120 days in a year in normal conditions, is considered as the wettest state in the country.