Bridgestone joins hands with Maha govt for water conservation and management

[caption id="attachment_713" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Bridgestone associates with Maharashtra government[/caption]

Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone India will be associating with Maharashtra government for integrated water conservation and management initiative called ‘Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan’. Under this unique initiative, the company has conducted de-silting and widening of water streams at Audar village, Khed-Taluka in Pune district. This project will benefit the village by increasing the water reserves by more than 10,000 cubic meters. More than 1400 families including certain tribal population will benefit from this good work and improve their quality of life.

Ajay Sevekari, Director, Bridgestone India said, "The drought situation in Maharashtra is extremely serious and required a rapid response. Bridgestone India will contribute to bringing much-needed relief not only for agricultural activities but also to improve the daily lives of the villagers in this drought-affected area, As a socially and environmentally-conscious organization, Bridgestone India believes in encompassing development and growth through social projects for the society as a whole.”

Himmatrao Kharade, SDO, Khed, said, “The state of Maharashtra has been working tirelessly towards the betterment of the drought-affected areas and we are delighted to have Bridgestone India support our initiative.” Gabaji Hojage, a villager from Audar, said, “On behalf of my fellow villagers, I appreciate and wholeheartedly thank the efforts and commitment that Bridgestone India is putting in for the betterment of our drought-affected village. This initiative will help the villagers in the long run to address the water crisis, generate livelihood and reduce migration.”

This environmental CSR activity will contribute towards making Maharashtra a drought-free state by 2019. According to Bridgestone India, they chose Audar village for this project because it is identified by government authorities as one of the 15 most water scarce villages in Khed Taluka. Many people are migrating out of the village due to difficulty to source water. Around 40 per cent of the migrants choose to move to urban areas in search of better quality of life. This CSR project will help raise the ground water table after which water can be easily retained for agricultural and domestic use through better channeling of rain water into the main stream and raised water level of the wells.