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The long battle for clean drinking water

2023-06-06T07:13:22.958Z

Highlights: Representatives of Indienhilfe visited project areas of the Indian partners for the first time this year. A special highlight was the inauguration of the water treatment plant in Herrsching's twin town of Chatra – with a video message from Mayor Christian Schiller. With the new plant, 160 households, more than 600 people, can be supplied with clean drinking water every day. The project was repeatedly shaken by setbacks. Monsoons, pandemics, cyclones, local elections and difficult approval procedures delayed the construction.



The travelers from Herrsching at the ceremonial handover: Dr. Corinna Wallrapp (l.) and Astrid Kösterke. © India Aid Herrsching

After a three-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, representatives of Indienhilfe visited project areas of the Indian partners for the first time this year. A special highlight was the inauguration of the water treatment plant in Herrsching's twin town of Chatra – with a video message from Mayor Christian Schiller.

Herrsching – The contamination of the groundwater in Herrsching's partner municipality of Chatra (India) with arsenic has been an issue since the beginning of the town twinning in 1996. At the suggestion of Mayor Christian Schiller, supported by the then AWA board member Hermann Doblinger, a water working group under the direction of Indienhilfe Herrsching had been working intensively on this since 2012 and initiated the construction of a drinking water treatment plant. After a six-month test run, the plant was officially handed over at the beginning of the year in the presence of the German Consul General in Kolkata, Manfred Auster, and in the presence of project officer Dr. Corinna Wallrapp and project supervisor Astrid Kösterke. Mayor Christian Schiller took part in the ceremony with a video message.

With the new plant, 160 households, more than 600 people, can be supplied with clean drinking water every day. It was not an easy road to get there. The project was repeatedly shaken by setbacks. Monsoons, pandemics, cyclones, local elections and difficult approval procedures repeatedly delayed the construction. It was not until the end of 2018 that the tender for the work could take place. Sustainability is also a major aspect of operation: Twelve solar panels supply the electricity for the pumping station. The financing was applied for and processed under the leadership of the municipality of Herrsching. The Herrschinger Verein, in turn, took care of logistical, technical and accompanying measures, supported by the project partner Adelphi, which had presented the plans to the Herrsching municipal council (we reported). The project was also funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In this way, Herrsching became a pioneer in terms of global partnership, but the lion's share of the financial burden of 180,000 euros has been provided by India Aid.

The two representatives of India Aid took the opportunity to catch up on a lot – namely to visit the other projects that are supervised from Herrsching. Six out of seven have managed to visit them. With different emphases, they work towards the one major goal: that malnutrition and child labour are a thing of the past and that all children have access to education in a supportive family environment. A new addition is the topic of inclusion, which is to be promoted across projects.

In impressive pictures, the two recently described the living situation of the people in the various project areas to the members of Indienhilfe in a video conference via the Internet. In addition, they have been able to initiate new projects on site, which have now been running since April. For 2023 to 2024 (the Indian financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March), Indienhilfe has approved a total of seven projects at seven partner organisations with a total investment of 303,000 euros – including childcare so that mothers can work.

Dr. Corinna Wallrapp and Astrid Kösterke proved that the aid is effective, but must also be continued. "Sharing, learning, working together for a sustainable earth" - this has been the motto of the Herrschinger Verein since 1980, when it was founded. If you would like to receive more information about the India Aid, you can do so on the Internet via the homepage of the association at indienhilfe-herrsching.de. If you would like to donate specifically, you will also find the respective donation accounts for the areas there.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-06-06

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