Tiruchirappalli District

Gramalaya Urban And Rural Development Initiatives And Network (GUARDIAN) is a micro finance institution (MFI) and a not for profit institution with no capital, registered under Sec.

A Water Technology Park, established by Gramalaya, a voluntary organization at its Institute of Water and Sanitation at Kolakudipatti, was declared open on the occasion of World Water Day.

The park provides an opportunity for local communities, health practitioners, voluntary organizations and government officials to learn about water sources, treatment and conservation.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to visit a couple of partners in Tamil Nadu. These two partners are facing a difficult task—sanitation and hygiene implementation through community participation. One project is in the urban slums of Trichy while the other one is a rural project a few hours outside of Trichy. These communities have open defecation rates of 90%. The problem mostly lies on the women. Women feel embarrassed and ashamed to go out in the open, so as a result they only go in the early mornings or late at night—basically during pitch black. Menstrual Health is a topic that is only now being addressed with organizations developing their own branch of sanitary napkin production, sold cheaply to women in rural areas. In addition to the burden on women, open defecation pollutes water sources, thereby leading to diarrhea, one of the biggest killers of children in the developing world.

Symposium details in brief :

Aim: To discuss findings about all recent trace organic pollutants in the environment, its source, effects, and  control stragies.  Bioremediation of sites polluted with organic pollutants will also be emphasized.

Forwarded to the Portal by S. Krishna Kumar, Research Scholar, Bharathidasan University ====== Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Bharathidasan University, is organising a workshop on Environmental Pollutants and their control. The primary topic is environmental pollutant monitoring/testing   by employing GC-MS (Gas Chromatograph- Spectrophotometer). It is a fully hands-on workshop to be guided by experienced faculty. The workshop is from 27-30 August 2009, with last date for application 10th August 2009.