Bharat Chambers organized a special session on the occasion of World Water Day at Bharat Chambers, Kolkata. The theme adopted by the United Nations for this year is ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’.

The Session was graced by Dr. Kalyan Rudra, Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board as the Guest-in-Chief. Other Guest Speakers present at the event included Dr. Tarit Roychowdhury, Professor, School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Professor Sirshendu De from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and Dr. Swati Nandi Chakraborty, Environment Scientist.

Dr. Rudra busted the popular myths existent in the Indian scenario of water resources management. He emphasized the conservation of rain and surface water by digging more water bodies like lakes and ponds.

Dr. Roychowdhury outlined the perils of arsenic and fluoride poisoning transmitted through groundwater usage. He informed that arsenic content in groundwater has increased from 5 to 20 folds in a span of 3 to 7 years in about 14 districts of West Bengal.

Dr. Swati Nandi Chakraborty highlighted that India houses 16 percent of the global population but possesses only 4 percent of the global water resources.

Dr. Sirshendu De discussed some specific achievements of IIT-Kharagpur in terms of producing water filters for removing arsenic, fluoride, and cyanide from drinking water which are being widely used in rural Bengal.

Bharat Chambers has an Environment Sub-Committee that aims to expand the scope of the Chamber’s participation in matters of environmental conservation as an intermediary agency.