KATHMANDU,Aug 9: Drinking water accessibility has become a global problem. Though Nepal is rich in water recourses, increased urbanization and unmanaged extraction of underground water have created a scarcity of water in the country. Considering these global issues, two entrepreneurs Sajal Pradhan and Gokul Dangal established a Patan based Water Management Company named ‘Best Paani’ that aims to collect rainwater and convert them into drinkable water.
Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Best Paani, Dangal is a graduate of white water management from Madras University. Sharing his harsh experience Dangal said, “When I returned to Nepal after completing my graduation, I realized the need of utilizing rainwater in Nepal. But since most of the people in Nepal were hardly aware of the technology, they were clueless about the whole idea of it. So I talked with some construction companies and I installed rainwater harvesting system in some building. Then, I started getting contracts.”
Dangal has an experience of more than a decade in this field. He first started working remotely. Then he couldn’t convince big projects until he established Best Paani in 2015. Later, he collaborated with the present Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sajal Pradhan.
Lessons from Melamchi Project
Best Paani has installed rainwater harvesting system in more than 500 households till date. Rainwater harvesting is a process of collecting, storing, and filtering water. The process starts by collecting roof water which is primarily filtered through a flushed system to remove big dust particles like leaves, bird excrement, and it is again filtered through the rapid sand filter which makes the water clean for other household works like cleaning, washing, and showering. A micro-filter can be installed per the costumer’s requirement, given that they want drinkable water.
Pradhan also revealed, “Though the concept of utilizing rainwater was not new in Nepal, people were unaware about the process. So, we decided to conduct public awareness campaigns to aware about the issues.”
The company mainly focuses on government schools in rural areas where students have to travel for miles for even a single flask of water. The company has already installed rainwater harvesting systems in more than 200 educational institutions across the country.
The excessive use of underground water and the inability to recharge the same at normal rate creates a decline in underground water reserve. So, recharging the underground source with rainwater is a good way to ensure abundant water in the underground source.
Dangal informed that the consequences of the decline in underground water can lead to desertification, or invite natural disasters like soil erosion. Revealing their future plans Dangal stated, “Lack of pure drinking water is a global issue. After working in Nepal, we are planning to move to other countries as well.”
He claimed that if a sufficient amount of water was to be recharged, then the dried up water resource would start regenerating water.
