IFAT India 2017: More wastewater treatment plants for a cleaner Ganges

• The Ganges is one of the world's most polluted rivers

• Government program: Nearly €2.8 billion for clean-up activities 

• Massive expansion of treatment capacities

The environmental industry will get together from September 26 to 28, 2017 at IFAT India. At the fifth edition of the trade fair, products and solutions to the subcontinent's most pressing environmental problems will be presented once again in the Bombay Exhibition Centre in the Indian city of Mumbai. The major environmental challenges facing India, the world’s second most populous country after China, include heavily polluted rivers, particularly the Ganges. Each day, several billion liters of untreated or inadequately treated industrial and household wastewater pour into the more than 2,500-kilometer-long river. The Ganges is one of the world's most polluted rivers.

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To improve the situation, the Indian government initiated a new effort in 2014 as part of a program called Namami Gange (“homage to the Ganges”). The ambitious goal is to create a clean Ganges by the end of 2019. A multistage program with a budget of 200 billion rupees – or nearly €2.8 billion – has been developed to achieve this goal.

One main focal point of the planned steps is expanding wastewater treatment capacities. During the project, the daily treatment capacities are to increase by 2.5 billion liters. This past April, the National Mission for Clean Ganga supported by the Indian government approved 26 projects in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Delhi with a total budget of more than 21 billion rupees (about €290 million). The funds are scheduled to be invested in the construction of 13 new wastewater treatment plants and in the upgrading of 33existing systems. The sewer system is to be expanded by 145 kilometers as well.

Water and wastewater technologies are two of the key areas of IFAT India along with waste and recycling. Projects like Namami Gange clearly underscore the large demand for state-of-the-art, environmentally and economically sensible components, processes and systems in the host country of the trade fair.

To facilitate uncomplicated and successful participation in the fair, the organizers are providing exhibitors with an all-in-one package for the first time. Based on a tiered pricing structure, this package includes services like booth construction, arrangement of accommodations, organization of transfers to the fair venue and a number of marketing measures, including announcements of upcoming products and posts in social networks.