Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Rajiv Ranjan Mishra and the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Dr Vibha Dhawan launched the NMCG-TERI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Water Reuse at the TERI Headquarters in New Delhi . The CoE on Water Reuse is the first of its kind to be established in the country through a collaboration between NMCG and TERI.
The Centre is a quadripartite alliance between NMCG, TERI, industry partners, and industry representative bodies, to come up on the TERI campus in Gwal Pahari, Gurugram, Haryana, and will be meeting the objectives of the Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) to design and foster research and innovation, including identification of knowledge gaps for research and need for new ideas, supporting targeted research, and spurring and nurturing needed innovation e.g. for low-cost, effective and integrated treatment technologies, which could bridge the current treatment gaps, augment capacities, and provide safe treated water for reuse. This CoE is also the first of its kind that will match the activities envisaged under GKC, according to a PIB release.
Speaking at the launch, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, DG, NMCG, said, “Wastewater after treatment should be used to the extent possible. The idea behind cleaning the Ganga, or a river or a city is to make them sustainable in the long run; sustainability from the point of view of looking at it not as wastewater, but as a resource that can be reused.” Mishra emphasised the need for partnerships with stakeholders, including research institutions and industries, to effectively address water reuse. “We need to have dialogues with industries that are working in the area of wastewater treatment, establishing treatment plants, enhancing water reuse, and going to provide treated water for safe reuse,” he added.
In her address, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, highlighted that cutting-edge research should aim to help the larger community. “Research which remains in the laboratory is of little use,” said Dr Dhawan, pointing out that TERI has always worked closely with industries and other stakeholders. She emphasised that treating wastewater at source is crucial not only from an economic perspective, but also as a sustainability measure.”
Dr S K Sarkar, Distinguished Fellow and Senior Director, Water Resources Division, TERI, said, “The conventional technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse have limitations, therefore new technologies are a necessity. In this regard, TERI has developed the TERI Advanced Oxidation Technology (TADOX®) for wastewater treatment, achieving Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and enhancing water reuse. Setting up of this Centre of Excellence will help in advancing such technology initiatives.”
The Centre will be Headed by Dr Nupur Bahadur, Fellow and Area Convenor, TADOX® Technology Centre for Water Reuse, Water Resources Division, TERI. She said, “The Centre will emerge as a World Class Institution that will benefit stakeholders such as industries and industrial clusters, Universities involved in R&D programmes in wastewater treatment as well as provide technical consultancy, training, and capacity building support to Central and State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, and industries in wastewater treatment and water reuse.”