On 13th February 2020, the Water Conclave organized by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) at Madurai gave us one more opportunity to share DHAN’s perspective and practices on urban water bodies dveleopment through a presentation titled “Water Tank Rejuvenation for the City Development – Sharing Success Stories for Sustainable Water Management”. The one-day conclave delibetated a wide range of topics to achieve sustainable water management for the city on the areas like

• Evolve a policy and implementable action plan
• Waste Water Management – A Technological Overview
• Efficient Rain Water Harvesting for Climate Change & Adaptation
• Efficient Water Management: Agenda for Madurai Smart City
• Water tank rejuvenation for the city development and Sharing Success stories for sustainable water management

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a "Blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs, set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030, are part of UN Resolution. Goal 6 is on Clean Water and Sanitation set to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

To meet the SDG targets for water security, sanitation and management by 2030, the CII Madurai would like to address it by organizing the ‘CII Madurai Water Conclave 2020 – Striving to achieve SDG 6 objectives’. The conclave is expected to create a vibrant platform for dialogue and discussion leading to substantial outcomes. And, this conclave is a call to prepare actionable agenda for policymakers, industries and all other stakeholders.

The model initiatives of DHAN Foundation’s Centre for Urban Water Resource (CURE) towards urban water body development was deliberated during the conclave. The Project Revival: Revitalizing the Vandiyur Lake, with the collaboration of the HCL Foundation has been presented in detail and also shared as the scope of CURE is high across the country, DHAN Foundation is planning to replicate the model in Salem, Visakhapatnam and other cities with the CSR collaborations.

Apart from the available rainwater and reuse of treated wastewater, water bodies (lakes, ponds), especially in urban areas, have enormous value in terms of resource provision (for drinking, domestic needs or agricultural purpose), regulating services such as climate mediation, flood and drought management. Therefore, the water tank rejuvenation is essential for better management. The conclave was designed to aid different sectoral people in understanding the various models of water tank rejuvenation where Organizations / Corporates can pitch in to showcase their responsibility towards the development of the City