City-based NGO Siruthuli has joined hands with Germany-based Research organization Fraunhofer to provide solutions needed for addressing challenges in Water sector in Coimbatore.
The two organizations have formed AQUA-Hub; these are Water Innovation Hubs that can provide solutions to challenges like water scarcity, inadequate wastewater treatment etc.
Earlier, German companies that specialize in providing such solutions had difficulty in gaining a foothold in the Indian market but now with this joint initiative Water Innovation Hubs will be implemented in different cities, and issues will be addressed.
A press release mentioned that initially the hubs will be launched in the two Indian Smart Cities, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Solapur (Maharashtra), and accompanied by pilot measures of German technology for water quality monitoring.
“Siruthuli was instrumental in bringing together various stakeholders who comprised of members from the Academia, Industry and Civil Society and CSR Partners. Presentations by the two speakers was followed by interactions aimed at eliciting the challenges faced in the sector and also the expectations from the hub. The stakeholders also spelt out the possibilities of their contribution to the Hub in the form of sharing of knowledge and facilities,” the release added.
Recently a stakeholders meet was organized by Siruthuli at Noyyal Life Centre. R S Krishnaswamy, Convenor, Water Watch at Siruthuli welcomed the gathering and Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India set the context for the meeting. Marc Beckett, Senior Scientist, Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) interacted with Stake Holders. Stefan Liehr, Head of Research Unit “Water Resources and Land Use”, Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), Germany was also present.