Greetings, everyone!
Right now, we are in the midst of difficult times; the Coronavirus pandemic has shaken the world and has highlighted the fragility of human life on earth. The positive, however, is that it has brought the whole world together not only in looking for a cure but also in supporting each other, irrespective of prior hostilities or aggression. What it has also done is that it has taught us not to take anything for granted.
We have also been taking our world and its natural resources for granted for long. Our planet today is in a fragile state, largely due to our own actions. The world, especially India, has been grappling with a severe water crisis of late. This is due to population explosion, rapid industrialisation and urbanization, climate changes, and indiscriminate use as well as wastage of water. Now we are at a stage that we cannot ignore this looming disaster and need to do whatever we can to reverse it. We need to look at conservation, traditional and modern ways of managing water, nature, innovation, technology, in short, anything and everything that will help us to collectively resolve this problem.
Maithri Aquatech was founded with the idea of generating water from the atmospheric water vapours, to offer a viable and practical option of providing decentralised safe drinking water in water stressed areas. The Atmospheric Water Generating (AWG) technology puts no strain on existing surface or ground water sources, as it taps a hitherto underutilised albeit abundant renewable resource, i.e., moisture in the air.
I am happy to inform that we have already installed hundreds of AWG systems at various locations; this has been possible, in large part, due to collaborations with organisations of international repute like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) and Contec Global. We are now working with University of Agriculture Science, Bangalore, to assess the feasibility of AWG technology to provide micro-irrigation in water deficit areas where climate disturbances make smallholder farmers lose their entire crop.
I feel that sharing knowledge and ideas is key to resolving issues like water scarcity. With this end in mind, I am pleased to launch ‘AquaBuzz’, an E-newsletter which is intended as a live platform to connect researchers, users and stakeholders in the areas of provision of safe drinking water, micro-irrigation and medical applications. We are taking a small step with this inaugural issue of “AquaBuzz" which I am sure will complete the proverbial thousand-mile journey in due course of time.
Till then, stay safe, stay blessed.
Best regards,
M. Ramkrishna
Founder and Managing Director, Maithri Aquatech