President of Parmarth Niketan and Co-founder of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA), HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji and Secretary General of GIWA, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji participated in international discussion on water pollution and water conservation that took place in Switzerland.
Geneva-based Waterpreneurs, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), World Council of Churches, Ecological Water Network, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, other world-renowned organizations, interfaith leaders and faith based organisation took part in the high level discussions.
In this discussion, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji emphasized the necessity to conserve water and invited the sharing of new and effective solutions for treating wastewater. He shared the example of Rishikesh’s Chandreshwar Nala being transformed from a Sewage to a Selfie Point by bringing together Dutch and Indian water treatment systems.
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji said that through these international talks and deliberations all countries, companies, stakeholders and governments, everyone working on water problems, across the world should work together with all their technology collectively for solving the world’s water crisis. He said that India is always ready to work together with the world to conserve and clean water.
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji shared the power of faith and faith leaders to catalyse sustainable change and called for all faith leaders present in the meeting to work for this cause.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji said that water is one of the basic requirements for mankind. In India alone, more than 1600 children below the age of five years die due to the lack of clean water. and according to the United Nations statistics the world will have only half the water it needs by 2040 with between 24-700 million water refugees. Hence, the need to join hands and join hearts is vital and important.
Ambassador Mussie Hailu of United Religions Initiative, Pujya Swamiji and Sadhvi Bhagawatiji had further discussions to organize high level talks between India and Africa for wastewater treatment solutions, water conservation and tree plantation.
Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji invited all the guests in the conference to participate in Kumbh Mela 2019 in Allahabad and said that a Water Parliament should also be organized in the Kumbh, along the confluence of the sacred Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati Rivers, so that the message of water conservation can be given to the entire world. The guests expressed their heartfelt acceptance of the invitation to join the Kumbh Mela.
