Chennai, September 18, 2020: The Chennai Chapter of Young Indians (Yi), a pan Indian organisation for the youth committed to nation-building, and a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry, has inaugurated its 25th unit of touch-free hand wash machine for the use of the public. The unit was installed at Egmore Railway Station.
Young Indians – Chennai has designed this fully-mechanised hand wash system. The system dispenses water and soap when people push the pedal with their leg. There is no need for them to touch either the tap or soap while washing their hands. The touch-free machine has four sides of hand wash – hence at a time, four people can wash their hands, while still maintaining the mandatory social distance. Each unit can be used for 2500 to 3000 hand washes in a day.
Conceived as a part of Sugadharam, a Young Indians – Chennai’s initiative to promote hand hygiene for the prevention of COVID-19 and other infections, the first touch-free hand wash machine was installed on April 18, 2020, at a makeshift vegetable market at Broadway, Chennai, in association with the Chennai Corporation. All the units installed so far are functioning at the public places in Chennai, Thiruvallur, and Gummidipoondi. So far, they have facilitated about a million hand washes.
The cost of a single unit is a little over Rs. 25,000. Young Indians – Chennai plans to scale up the project pan India and install 50,000 units in three years.
Commenting about the event, Vishal Mehta, Chair, Young Indians – Chennai, said, “The project brings awareness about the importance of washing hands regularly. Regular hand wash is a basic component of hygiene. Its significance goes up, especially at the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In their comments, Krishna Nathani, Co-Chair, Young Indians – Chennai, said, “It’s a result of a collaboration of a large number of associate partners. They have made this project such a big success in a short time. Their support will take Sugadharam forward.”
Karthik Ragavendar R, Chair, Sugadharam, Young Indians – Chennai, said, “The project is thriving on sponsorship support. So many generous hearts backed this project financially. Now, we are looking forward to getting corporate sponsorships for our expansion.”
Divya Venkat P, Co-chair, Sugadharam, Young Indians – Chennai, said, “Sugadharam is bringing cost-effective hand wash and personal hygiene to all. The unit is designed with robust quality with the lowest cost. We have engaged all the cost control mechanisms to bring down the cost of the unit.”
Vikas Jain, Chair, Rural Initiatives, Young Indians – Chennai, said, “We have plans to take this project to the rural areas. India is 70 per cent rural. To bring about any change we should reach the rural and include them for a better future.” Raj Bharat, Regional Chair – Southern Region Tamil Nadu, said, “Our aim is to bring the project across India. Currently, we are working towards that goal. Soon major cities across India will have Sugadharam hand wash units and the journey will continue pan India.”