The Dengue and Malaria season is a month and a half away. Clean flowing water is the key to preventing it. Meanwhile, we are dealing with an unprecedented crisis – tackling the spread of COVID – 19. As advocated by Medical experts around the world, Social Distance, Masks and gloves and repeated washing of hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is the key to avoid the spread of COVID19 said, PM Modi in his address to the nation.
On March 31, India’s water ministry also said washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, repeatedly throughout the day, is critical especially after visiting a public space or touching a surface outside the home, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose, and of course, after using the toilet or taking out the garbage and before and after eating. That is at least 10 times a day @ 2 liters of water, clean water. For a family of four that is about 80 liters of clean water a day! India simply does not have that kind of resources.
But what if you don’t have enough clean water? And certainly, there isn’t; this makes tackling India’s clean water crisis even more apparent and urgent. In fact, just last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government’s goal of ‘Har Ghar Jal,’ an ambitious program to provide clean water in every rural household in India. Because, clean water – for personal hygiene – both for bathing and washing – and to drink is a luxury in India.
Only 18% of Rural Indian households have piped clean water. And in urban areas, the story is not much different. As of 2011, 31% of Indians lived in urban areas. By 2025, 46% of the country will live in cities. This figure will go up to around 81 Million by 2050, thirty years from now – not a long time. And Urban Local Bodies tasked with water distribution are just so ill-equipped to handle the surge. Most metros and Municipal corporations are struggling to cope because, water bodies are polluted by sewage and garbage, and the rains in catchment areas have been patchy.
Infectious water-borne disease is not new to India; cholera, dysentery, and typhoid all continue to spread through rural India, in part because of poor hand, eatables, and eatery hygiene. Between 2013 and 2017, Government data shows that waterborne illnesses had killed 10,738 people. 60% of them had died of diarrhea, which can easily be prevented with proper sanitation and access to clean water. COVID 19 is just the latest addition, but it is a bigger threat than the rest.
The COVID 19 Virus can spread more easily in unhygienic conditions including the sewage systems Researchers at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) already suspect that the virus can spread through human feces.
The 2003 SARS Virus also spread through faulty plumbing and unhygienic handling of sewage. Naturally, the sewage and garbage systems are a major suspect too in the spread of COVID 19. Unfortunately, a majority of the nearly 100 million new toilets built in the last six years for a Swacch Bharat, are not connected to an organized sewage system, because it mostly does not exist in areas where they have been built. Access to water too, is a major issue. Sewage pits will need to be pumped and the sewage transported to a treatment plant which also, is a rarity. India only has enough capacity to treat 37% of the sewage its cities generate. Indeed, clean water for better sanitation is the key to many of India’s health issues which the World Bank said ten years ago was costing India India 6.4% of its GDP. Today, the figure must be much higher, especially as the GDP dips.
So what is the solution to expand access to clean water?
Bottled Water? Bottled water can only cater to some. Bottled water manufacturers are already making a quick buck with the scarcity. Sales were high even before this outbreak at approx. Rs: 2000 crore a year in the period 2012 -2017 – there was a 19% growth in the market in these years. Today it is also an essential service!.
But rural households and Migrant labor, the two most vulnerable sections of society cannot access bottled water nor can they afford it and have to depend on volunteer groups for their hygiene needs or risk the spread of the disease through un-sanitized touch. This is a tragedy for the country and its citizens.
The Government must seize this opportunity to quickly initiate novel methods to expand access to clean water.
Is the solution a tablet?
Interestingly, the solution is perhaps not a Solution but a tablet, a biocide tablet called Biotab7. They are ready to use tablets based on patented chemistry, made by Advanced Biocide Technologies (ABT), a privately-owned company founded in Florida, USA in 2012, with an R&D team located in Arizona. Since it is manufactured in the USA, it has all the necessary approvals from the US Government Agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As everyone knows, their standards are stringent. It also has the approval of the UAE Government for use in the UAE!
These tablets are now available in India via “Nexo Global” its authorized distributor in UAE and India. It’s an opportunity for all of us to make Bharat Swacch. While useful for large bodies of water, we must begin closer to home – at home, in our offices, in our surroundings (Pools and Ponds), in our Medicare centers’, in our schools and in our hotels. Because the Biotab7 is 18 products rolled into one small tablet and can be used anywhere to disinfect, deodorize and sanitize.
The tablet is a revelation and a revolution. It’s a cost-effective medical-grade biocide, disinfectant, and sanitizer. Its efficacy is proven against over 20 pathogens including Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Norovirus, Bacillus Subtilis, Ebola, E. Coli, Listeria, Zika Virus & Influenza. As a sanitizer especially, it is cost-effective and kills 99.99% of all Germs extremely fast. Using it cannot be simpler – Simply add to water and apply as a spray, mop, or soak. That’s it! There is no need to rinse before or after, and no need for protective gear or get specialized training. It acts in most cases within 6 minutes. It can be used in a variety of industries ranging from agriculture to food, and in a variety of ways – from sanitizing medical centers and operation theatres’ to keeping swimming pools and spas clean and healthy. It can provide you with fresh drinking water – a great need today – and can be used even to clean and deodorize your home or workspaces and restrooms.
Why Biotab7 you may ask – here’s the answer:
Better than Chlorine!
Basically, the Biotab7 is 15 products (and counting) in 1, used in 32 industries across 6 countries across several sectors. Chlorine, the most widely used biocide is no comparison at all. Biotab7 is extremely efficient with very little waste. Very little of the product is needed because 1 unit of the product is 2.6 times more effective than 1 unit of chlorine. Chlorine is not as sophisticated as Biotab7. It takes more of the product to get a similar result, and it also comes with a price: toxic by-products.
But how is biotab7 so strong and effective?
Biotab7 is 2.5 times stronger, safer, and more effective than similar products. Its strength comes from various factors, but its electron advantage is a big deal. What is this electron advantage? It has five electrons soaring around its molecule – a uniquely high number. This makes it one of the strongest pound-for-pound oxidizers on the market. Other products aren’t as selective when it comes to how they react with the pathogen they are trying to destroy, and end up doing collateral damage that results in corrosion and toxic by-products.
The bottom line? It does three things that other similar products can’t!
For the curious, and those interested to upgrade their hygiene situation, a visit to the manufacturer’s website will provide greater insight.
The Spearhead Media Group is partnering Nexo Global in its initiative to bring the product to India, in the public interest and with the objective of a Swacch Bharat and the Current COVID19 Crisis in mind.
Those who would like to know more may write into Brian Fernandes on WhatsApp at +91 9986558534 or [email protected] or Joel Crasta at [email protected]. Joel Crasta can also be contacted at +91-9686844815 or on his office landline at +91-824-4110745.