New Delhi: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Delhi and APAC News Network organised a virtual panel discussion on Friday. Marten ven den Berg, Ambassador of Netherlands to India delivered Keynote Addressed and stressed on strengthening partnership between the two countries for sustainable water management.
The district magistrates of Almora, Chamoli, Champawat & Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand and speakers from Netherland’s KWR WaterCycle, Rishikesh Upstream.NL, Hidrosinergia, aQysta participated in the discussion. All the speakers agreed on the scope for collaboration for river rejuvenation, green energy, irrigation and recharging of zones in lean period with Innovation and technology.
Marten ven den Berg said, ‘Netherlands have strong presence in India in water sector. That presence can be extended to Uttarakhand as well.’
Nitin Bhadauria, District Magistrate of Almora stressed in aquifer mapping with a 5 year plan in place to take Kosi River Rejuvenation project to next step. Corry de Lange of Rishikesh Upstream.NL highlighted their Initiatives to tackle water & waste challenges to achieve SDG goals.
‘We are open for collaborations for water resource management from the perspective of quality & quantity,’ said Swati Bhadauria, District Magistrate of Chamoli. Dr Patrick Smeets of KWR WaterCycle highlighted the Institute’s offerings for entire water cycle both quality & quantity wise.
‘We are looking for opportunities of collaborations specially for using green energy for villages,’ stated Mayur Dixit, District Magistrate of Uttarkashi. Giovanni Cecchetto, CEO of HidroSinergia focused on water tech and leveraging them in Indian context. Surendra Narayan Pandey, District Magistrate of Champawat highlighted the need for augmentation of recharge zones of rivers in the lean period.
Florian Volz of aQysta shed light on the benefits of hydro powered pumps for sustainable irrigation.
Maya Acharya, Senior Advisor, Water Sector, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Delhi moderated the panel discussion and highlighted areas of collaborations where both Uttarakhand and Dutch stakeholders can join hands.
