In many parts of rural Himachal Pradesh, 24×7 water supply is a far fetched dream. Water tends t grace many household taps just once a day and sometimes only once in two days.

Adults tend to wake up early in the morning to ensure that this water fills tanks, so all household water needs are met.

And yet, it is also a common sight to see overflowing tanks, who owners have left water taps open and unattended.

“When the Atal Tinkering Lab started in our school, we brainstormed together to find a solution to this problem. That is how my teammates, Sulabh, Kapil and I decided to innovate a smart water pumping system called Swajal Dhara,” says Nitesh, a Class 9 student from the Government Senior Secondary School Chauntra, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.

Here is the basic problem Nitesh and his team wanted to solve – early in the morning, when water is supplied, people send the water directly to a tank placed on the ground floor. They then switch on a water pump to lift it to a secondary tank on the roof. The need is to optimize the process to fill both time in shortest possible time.

Somebody has to be on constant watch for two or three hours. That person has to ensure the roof tank does not overflow and also keep an eye out that the water level in the ground floor tank does not drop so drastically that the pump runs ‘dry. The former wastes water and electricity, and the latter damages the pump as well.

This needs presence of one individual every time the tanks are getting full.

“Our prototype is a smart water pumping device which uses an ultrasonic sensor that checks the water level in the tank placed on the ground floor. When the water level in this tank reaches the maximum level, the device will automatically switch the water pump on to direct the water to the upper tank. Once the exercise is complete, it will switch off the water pump automatically,” says Nitesh.

A simple idea, but one that has the potential to save millions of liters of water across the nation!

“ATL gave us the confidence to learn about the latest technologies and utilize it to tackle everyday issues. We are now using tech for social welfare. And that wouldn’t have been possible without ATL,” says Nitesh, signing off.