Representatives of 25 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries will be visiting the City next month to gain expertise in the field. The NAM Science and Technology Centre, New Delhi and the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, have been instrumental in organising the event billed as ‘International Trainers Training Programme’.

The Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) will be one of the key players involved in imparting training for the delegation from February 21 to 28, informed A R Shivakumar, Principal Investigator at the Council.

Altogether 18 resource persons, including representatives from BWSSB, will be a part of the training team. Shivakumar, who holds patents for two inventions in RWH and regularly imparts training to BWSSB plumbers and officials, will be among those sharing expertise with the visitors.

“Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives are among the countries that have confirmed their participation. Water experts, water managers, policy makers and bureaucrats from NAM nations figure among the participants,” Shivakumar said.

Each country would be sending a representative and this trained individual would impart training to 1,000 personnel in his or her country. “The idea is to popularise the concept of saving the precious resource in all the NAM countries,” the Investigator said.
On the reasons for Karnataka being chosen over other states which have opted for RWH, the scientist said that the approach here is “very modern and scientific” which has captivated the imagination of the international community. Drawing a parallel with neighbouring states, the scientist said that old techniques in RWH were used in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

The pop-up filter used in RWH is something novel and deployed only in Karnataka. Other scientific steps adopted are usage of pre-cast cement rings in old wells and reusage of plastic barrels for the purposes of groundwater recharging.