Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: The Namami Gange Program offers potential opportunities for Wisconsin companies with clean water technologies.
India is extending the deadline for completing its massive Namami Gange Mission, a multifaceted effort to clean up the critical Ganges River.
The program, launched in June 2014, is now expected to continue through March 31, 2026, allowing additional opportunities for Wisconsin companies involved in water resources to consider participating.
The Ganges River is one of the largest rivers in Asia. Glacier melt in the Himalaya Mountains marks the river’s start, and it winds through heavily populated areas of northern India before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. More than 400 million people living in the area that feeds the river depend on it for fresh water, according to National Geographic, and Hindus consider it a sacred waterway. A vast array of fish, plants, and wildlife inhabit the river and the nutrient-rich soil along its banks.
However, the Ganges became severely polluted from human sewage, industrial waste, and farm runoff.
India’s government began its clean-up mission in 2014 with a $2.7 billion commitment to rejuvenate the Ganges. Projects center around sewage treatment, riverbank development, surface cleaning, biodiversity conservation, and establishing new forest lands. They also aim to improve sanitation and amenities at the riverbanks, where Hindus perform ritual baths and cremation ceremonies, and to boost research, monitoring, and public awareness.
As of June 2024, 467 projects have been initiated, with an estimated cost of $4.7 billion, and 292 of them have been completed and are operating. Nearly half of the projects involve sewerage infrastructure construction, and 120 of those are now operational. The Namami Gange Program plans to add treatment capacity of 7 billion liters per day by December 2026.
Wisconsin companies with expertise in river basin management and integrated water resources may find opportunities to collaborate. India’s government is seeking updated technology for using water efficiently, flood forecasting and management, water quality, waste recycling, and laboratory testing.
Related Posts
