Red tape strangles mobile water ATM startup

LUCKNOW: At a time when the centre is aggressively promoting Startup India programme for young entrepreneurs, five youths who have come up with the idea of setting up water ATMS on an e-rickshaw are running from pillar to post, for a piece of land where they can park their mobile water ATM and quench the thirst of people.

Vineet Vats, former investment banker, Pradeep Pandey and Anand Singh both MBAs, water technologist Vikas Vats and PhD holder Satyavrat Singh have teamed up to float Wah water ATMs installed on e-rickshaws .

With an investment of R 2.5 lakh, they built a water vending unit after taking loan. The unit has sensors to gauge the quality of water being dispensed and it is displayed in real time. The technology used is so perfect that if something disturbs the quality of water, the machine will be shut down by a cloud application. So the quality of water is guaranteed and the unit is approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The safety and quality parameters are so high that machine only works when a technician fulfils all service protocols.

By putting a R 2 coin into the vending machine, people can get a recyclable paper cup and 250 ml of chilled RO water and by putting a R 5 coin, they can get 1 litre of water. After inventing such a high class machine, Vineet Vats thought that they would earn appreciation from the authorities but only district magistrate Raj Shekhar understood the importance of project .

He told the five youths to meet LMC officials to get some places marked for parking of their water kiosks but for the past five months, LMC officials have made them run from pillar to post as they don’t have time to discuss the ‘useless’ project.

“People can get water in polythene, so why use your machine ,” an LMC official told them. To make matters worse, local goons are now asking for their cuts where ever the e-rickshaws are being parked. Police constables come and slap the rickshaw operator and hit the machine with cane that it disturbs the sensors inside.

“Sensors are placed inside to gauge the quality of water being dispensed and it’s displayed in real time and if cops hit the machine with a cane , I am afraid they would destroy a unit. The importance of sensors can be gauged by the fact is that if something disturbs the quality of water, the machine is shut down,” said Vineet Vats.

Additional municipal commissioner PK Srivastava said that the entrepreneurs were welcome to meet him if they were facing of problems .

He said LMC was always ready to something which benefited the society.