A STRONG – WILLED VISIONARY -MS. CHITRALEKHA VAIDYA!
Yes, that’s what we call Ms. Chitralekha Vaidya –the CEO and Founder of the company VARSHASOOKT, which specialises in rainwater harvesting and conservation, waste management, generating electricity using solar energy, etc. A civil engineer with a postgraduate degree in environmental engineering and possessing a strong sense of responsibility towards the legacy that we as a society should leave behind for our future generations to come, Ms. Chitralekha Vaidya started a company named VARSHASOOKT, a one-stop solution to all environment-related problems in a very systematic manner. The motto of her company is ALL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE UNDER ONE ROOF. This includes water conservation, energy conservation, bio-waste management, etc.
It all started with water and the problems related to it. We may have heard the famous saying: WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT NO WATER TO DRINK. We heard or read it, but sadly, few of us have taken it seriously!! Yes, this is sad but very true. The day is not far away, and we will say this if we refer to the groundwater consumption data. The scary part is that India ranks third among the maximum number of water consumers. In India, a place like Cherrapunji, which records the highest rainfall in the season, ironically uses water tankers for its needs during other times, whereas a place like Israel does not. And thus began her quest for water conservation. According to her, we have deprived our future generations of drinking water and will leave behind a legacy of parched throats and land. No wealth will solve a problem for them unless we decide to take up the mantle and do something about it now so that we will not be remembered as ancestors who robbed their generations of their essential needs like drinking water and left loads of unproductive wasteland.
Water can make the economy or break it, she says and how true it is. Being a civil engineer, she wanted to apply her learning to a good social cause. She had been working in a district of Maharashtra that provides water to Thane district but had no water for itself at the end of the year. So she started with rainwater conservation and wastewater management projects. Her company Varshasookt has completed many such water projects for the Defense Sector. Indian Army and Indian Navy are their prime and prestigious customers. Since their personnel are located in remote and hilly areas, they also require waste management and energy management. While speaking about waste, she has a fascinating thing to say!! She says, “Waste is a resource in the wrong place!!!” She tells us, “Because of the wastewater management and bio-waste management projects done for them, they (Defense People) were able to grow vegetables at the height of 10,000 sq. ft, and the army personnel can now include them in their meals where only potatoes had the place of honour!” Varshasookt did other prestigious projects for companies like Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance SEZ, MUMBAI PORT Trust, etc. They have also worked with Cummins India, Crompton Electricals, Indusind Bank, Voltas etc., under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). They also did one of the most significant educational Institute solar projects for the Bombay College Of Pharmacy.
Water cannot be looked at in isolation; hence, all related issues like waste management and energy conservation need to be addressed. So her company offers all the environmental solutions such as solar energy projects, rainwater harvesting, kitchen waste and wastewater management and electricity generation. These socially sustainable projects are technically and financially viable even for private housing societies, schools, colleges, and companies in cities, towns, and villages.
When quizzed about how affordable Solar Energy could be, she said, “It is cheaper because we can recover the costs in three to three and a half years. It is commercially viable too as the surplus Energy can be given back to the grid.” About waste too, she is very particular. She says, “Our waste is our responsibility, every person living on the face of this Earth creates waste, and it should be our collective responsibility to manage it.”
Hats off!! To this strong-willed visionary who was once a victim of a terrible road accident when she was run over by a truck and was bedridden for almost a year, everyone thought it was impossible that she would ever stand up on her feet and walk again. Well, stand up; she did and in what a way!!!!!
We at KYT wish her all the luck, and many among us will be suitably inspired to take on our SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY!!!!
-Lakshmi Nadkarni