Majority of us
follow the society’s rule book of studying hard through school and college to
get a good job, and eventually working hard to climb up the corporate ladder. Suprio
Das from Kolkata was also taught the same rules and he did follow them to his
corporate life, only to realise that there is a lot that can be accomplished by
working on his own. After many failed and some successful innovations, Suprio
Das has successfully created a revolutionary product that will aid ground water
purification in the rural areas.
Statistics show
that every minute a child dies of waterborne diseases. Educating the masses
regarding water purification is one aspect but more importantly making
resources available tothem is an uphill task. Mr.Das’ determination to solve
this problem, prompted him todesign ‘Zimba’, an automatic chlorine dispenser or
water chlorine doser that is proving to be a boon against impure ground water.
Zimba is a unique chlorine dispenser that has no moving parts and thus is very
low on maintenance. The only thing Zimba needs is regular chlorine
replenishment but the cost of water chlorination is only INR 5 – 10 per 10,000
litres, which is very affordable considering the cost of medication for
waterborne diseases and associated severe repercussions. It is based on the
auto-siphon mechanism, dosing chlorine at a specific water level. According to
Mr. Das, “Zimba is substantiallydifferent fromother existing water dosersthat
have the ability to disburse chlorine depending upon water level”. Zimba does
not consume electricity either and can be fitted to a common water pipe that
supplies water to over 60 families.
Born in a middle
class family in Shillong, Suprio Das is aware of the problems in obtaining
clean drinking water and wanted to do something for the society. He has worked
with several NGOs like Aqua Welfare Society, GOAL India and Shipping Health to
make safe drinking water available.Shipping Healthhas performed research on
arsenic content in water and ways toreduce, if not completely eliminate, the
level of arsenic in water. He soon found himself working with IDDS (International
Development Design Summit) an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
initiative to collaborate with ‘like-minded people’ for creating a unique
solution. Mr. Das says, “90% of the innovations these days are for only 10% of
the people because these are profitable options. IDDS focuses on innovations
that are for the underprivileged and for the needy”. Zimba was conceptualised
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) D-Labs in the year 2009 and a
working prototype was ready by 2011. Later Zimba was successfully demonstrated
at Stanford University, Cornell University and industrial summits in Dhaka,
Ghana, and Sudan. To test theon-fieldutility, a pilotstudy was done in
Sunderbans, West Bengal where 5 – 7 hand-pumps were fitted with Zimba. While
the water quality increased the financial aspects were also encouraging. As of
today Mr. Das is working with an entrepreneur who is also a hand-pump mechanic for
installing Zimba and charging a sum to cover costs. He has also been approached
by various national and international business houses for commercial production
of Zimba.
Mr. Suprio Das
did his Electrical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra,
Ranchi, India and has worked on several projects that include generating
electricity and water purification. He continues to serve as an advisor to Aqua
Welfare Society for the construction of modified dug wells. His other notable
innovations include Treadle Pump Electricity, and generating electricity for domestic
lighting from Human Powered Vehicles. His work and service to the society had
earned him a yearlong grant by MIT-India/IFMR (Institute of Financial
Management and Research) Trust Seed Fund besides TePP (Technopreneur Promotion
Programme) Fund by the Ministry of Science and Technology, India. His ability
to address hard problems of everyday life has been instrumental in hisbeing
invited to 4 consecutive International Development Design Summit (organized by
MIT) at Boston, Ghana and Colorado. He was also invited as
Designer-in-Residence at MIT to work with and mentor students of D-Lab on
development design. Mr. Das finds his mentorship at MIT very enriching as there
is co-learning with the students which leads to co-creations.
Mr Das always
had the desire to do something for the people who are less fortunate than him
and he draws inspiration from the problems faced by these to come-up with new
innovations. Through the years, he has worked on a hand pump, a hand powered
cell phone charger and, more recently, an automated chlorine doser (Zimba) that
contains no moving partsand does notrequire electricity.He is determined to
channelize his inquisitive mind for the larger section of society that manages
on meagre resources.
Great innovation ! How can we use it in Pune district ?
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Limaye. You can get in touch with Mr. Suprio Das, innovator of Zimba. He has been working with various NGOs and social groups for the noble cause of clean water to everyone. Please refer his website http://www.zimbawater.com/ for more details.
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