Purified water vending machine commissioned at Chennai Central

The purified water dispensing unit at Central Railway Station commissioned in Chennai on Saturday.Private water treatment company Ion Exchange commissioned a purified water-dispensing unit at Central Railway Station, on behalf of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).Purified water from the five-stage purifier-dispenser would cost Rs.3 per litre, Rs.2 for 500 ml and Re.1 for 300 ml. Railway officials and Ion Exchange representatives at the launch said the initiative would fulfil the demand of thousands of commuters for safe and portable water at affordable prices.

Man Singh, DRM - Chennai, Southern Railway, inaugurated the project. Officials said they would soon add two more vending machines at Central Railway Station. A similar machine was commissioned at Egmore Railway Station recently.Ion Exchange had won the contract to install the water dispensers for IRCTC and has planned 116 water dispensers for Southern Railway.This includes 39 machines in the Chennai region.

B. Channamallikarjun, regional manager-south, Ion Exchange, said the machines used a five-stage purification process — micron filter to arrest suspended solids, bacteriostatic activated carbon to remove unwanted colour and odour, reverse osmosis membrane to remove total dissolved solids, heavy metals, pesticides and micro-biological contaminants, ultraviolet steriliser and a second activated carbon filter.