Schools to have solar water heaters soon

KOCHI: With the increasing spread of water borne viral diseases in the state, social activist Mukesh Jain's novel initiative of setting up solar water heaters in schools of the state is in demand. It has also got the approval of the  government and education department.Jain has set up solar water heater in five schools of the district. The highlight of this project is that every children gets boiled water during the school time. According to Mukesh Jain, the Human Rights Commission had stated that students must be provided with water that is boiled up to 80 degree celsius. “The normal water heaters are not safe as they cannot remove micro insects and viruses which cause diseases. The water should be boiled and students must be given water whenever they need it. The education department has approved the project and many managements in the district are ready to implement the project in their respective Schools” Mukesh Jain said.A solar water heater costs around Rs. 20,000 for each school and funds are always a problem. But Mukesh has a solution for this too, “We can collect funds through alumni and former students of the school. From the estimate taken, alumni members have to pay only Rs. 250 which will be affordable for all”The project will be implemented in 105 schools initially and later it will be extended to all other districts. “The project has materialised in five schools in Ernakulam district and several other schools will have the facility by this year” Mukesh Jain said.