BENGALURU: The National Summit for Sustainable Water and Sanitation, a two-day programme, is scheduled to be held in the city from January 7. The summit will witness the participation of over 500 delegates from the urban and rural sectors and will aim at addressing various issues pertaining to sanitation and water supply in the country. Addressing reporters on Monday, Arvind Shekhar of Nispana Innovative Platforms, which is organising the summit, said that municipality representatives from across the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram and others will be participating. “The main objective of the summit is to share information and best practices on the government’s plan for the Swachh Bharat Mission, discuss national reforms on water and sanitation and review ongoing efforts,” he said.
The summit is being supported by entities like the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Swachh Bharat (urban and rural), Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board. It has been researched and developed by the CDD Society, Bengaluru.
According to the organisers, in the past three years, India has seen a lot of interest and activity in the water and sanitation sector. “India’s planning commission budgeted $26.5 billion to provide safe water to urban and rural areas for the years 2012-2017. The Swachh Bharat Mission has also been operational for over a year. When one thinks of the Swachh Bharat, the two things that come to mind are the ‘broom’ and ‘toilets.’ In this summit, we will explore the toilet aspect of the Mission,” said Sasanka Velidandla, of the CDD Society.