The world’s leading brewer, AB InBev, in collaboration with WaterAid India, came together to form a consortium that will work towards water conservation in Telangana.The consortium brings together multiple stakeholders and officials from Government organisations, Non-profit sector players, research institutions, water sector experts, and corporates – who will share their expertise and evidence-based solutions on the issue of clean water and recharge.
A launch event was organised at Mercure Hotel, Hyderabad, to kick-start the consortium in the presence of attendees from NGOs including Let’s Endorse, Hyderabad Urban Lab, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, members from the academia like TISS, JNTU, the think tank India Water Stewardship Network as well as the GroundWater Government Department. Sri V.Prakash Rao, Chairman, Telangana State Water Resources Development Corporation, was the guest of honour at the consortium’s launch.
He said, “The Telangana State government is mainly focusing on the water conservation and efficiency of usage of the water.
It is a great opportunity to assemble like-minded entities and people to work together to work on the water of Telangana state for future needs and collaborators.
The need for collective action from stakeholders who have a common and differentiated understanding of the various contributions is proving critical in improving water conservation efforts & solutions in Telangana.
The primary focus of the consortium is to develop a comprehensive toolkit to overcome water-linked challenges for large-scale adoption of water conservation in the state.
These stakeholders will work towards a common cause of water stewardship, management, and conservation by developing an interactive platform where key learnings and experiences will be shared for current and future programs for the state.
The consortium will conduct skill-sharing and technical workshops on water conservation to highlight solutions, technologies, and innovations for stakeholders to replicate.It will also support other like-minded organisations in planning and implementing their water programs through smaller partnerships.
The stakeholders will regularly discuss key water issues, look for solutions and plan the way for the state.
Commenting on the launch of this water consortium for Telangana, Ashwin Kak, Head of Procurement & Sustainability – India & South East Asia, AB InBev, “We are delighted to build partnerships in Telangana to help address water accessibility in the state.
Water is a key natural resource, and we remain committed to optimising natural resources for a better future.Through this consortium, we will curate solutions to address the water challenges for our communities.We want to thank WaterAid India and the Government of Telangana for supporting us with this endeavour.”
Under the consortium, the big and small businesses will focus on optimising water usage and designing campaigns on water conservation, while the researchers and scholars will aim at promoting water research.On the other hand, farmers will focus on using water-efficient technologies while the government institutions will emphasise future planning and knowledge sharing.
Rajesh Rangarajan, State Programme Director, WaterAid, said, “Water conservation requires collective and collaborative action from stakeholders like businesses, technology companies, social impact start-ups, changemakers in civil society and the government.
This led us to form a consortium so that we could collectively frame problems and develop solutions.We are now aiming to bring long-term change while responding to the crises in the water sector.”
The consortium has also developed a “Charter” with a key set of roles and future course of action.It is aimed at achieving excellence in the formulation and implementation of programs and activities in the field of water conservation and management.
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