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he India UK Water Centre (IUKWC) is a virtual Joint Centre between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt of India and the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), UK; hosted by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in India and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in the UK. IUKWC implemented its first set of Grassroots Field Exposure Initiative (GFES) from 13th December to 15th December 2018 in Kolkata. It was aimed to promote the assimilation of local knowledge and users’ experiences to progress the concept of co-production and co-design and facilitate user feedback into science and policy. On behalf of SIGMA Foundation Dr. Debasri Mukherjee attended the workshop and shared her thoughts on water quality scenario in West Bengal context. Dr. Mukherjee clearly stated the mitigation measures of fluoride affected districts in West Bengal especially Tapan and Gangarampur block of Dakshin Dinajpur where Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) is suppling safe drinking water in 482 villages and 1,547 habitations. In context of arsenic affected blocks of Habra-I, Habra-II and Gaighata in North 24 Parganas, PHED is supplying water in 327 rural mouzas and 799 habitations.

SIGMA Foundation got the opportunity to present the paper on “Environmental Enteropathy” which was jointly written by Dr. M. N. Roy and Dr. Debasri Mukherjee during the ‘INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on Human Health and Sustainable Development Global Environmental Challenges’ at JNU New Delhi, on the 11th of January 2019. This conference was technically and financially supported by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change GOI, ESDACON, JNU, CSIR NEERI and Metropolitan University San Juan PR, USA. Dr. Debasri Mukherjee presented a paper on Environmental Enteropathy which was closely associated with the poor sanitary status and high incidence of stunting status in India.

European Union organised a Water Conference on the 13th to 15th March in Paris, France where SIGMA Foundation got the opportunity to release a video on water through French Embassy. This video covered the following issues as per Embassy’s requirement: Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG – 6) has laid a specific target to be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure safe drinking water for everyone.

SIGMA Foundation took a stride forward to leave no one behind by celebrating “World Water Day 2019 themed leaving no one behind” at the grassroot level with the community cluster of FSP, SOS Children’s Village, Kolkata (slum areas of Rajarhat and Narayanpur). The initiative was led by Dr. Debasri Mukherjee, Dr. Sabari Bandopadhyay and Soumyajit Basu. The Team focused on generating technical as well as behavioural awareness about water safety and security amongst the community. SIGMA Foundation took an initiative to take science to grassroot level by intriguing the concept of reduction in ground water table and recharge of aquifers amongst the community to make water security a mass movement in rural Bengal.

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims to provide potable piped water to every rural household in India by 2024. To facilitate the above mission in the country, five 2-day consultative regional workshops have been scheduled to be organised by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Ministry of Jal Shakti with important stake holders and water activists from all the states. West Bengal has been invited to participate in the workshop on 11th and 12th September held in Puri, Orissa with other 6 states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and A&N Islands).

SIGMA Foundation has been identified amongst the most competent NGOs from West Bengal followed by Ramkrishna Mission Lokshiksha Parishad, PRADAN and Water for People with support of UNICEF. Mr. Ritaban Mitra, Hydrogeologist has been invited to attend the consultation workshop on behalf of SIGMA Foundation to impart his significant contributions on providing a critical picture of existing water supply and demand situation in the state of West Bengal. The discussion will focus on the present innovative practices presently implemented and challenges faced in the State. SIGMA Foundation with its extensive experience of working at community level all over the country is all set to work at the grass root level for water management including creation of local infrastructure for source sustainability under JJM.

SIGMA Foundation has been selected through bidding process to take up the work of “Planning of Scientific Solid Waste Management in Municipal towns/cities” in three zones of the state which covers 32 City Corporations/Municipalities. The work is divided broadly in two categories. The first phase includes conducting an area survey and assess the existing system run by ULB for collection, segregation and transportation of solid waste. After gap identification, SIGMA Foundation will propose efficient system of collection and transportation as per SWM Rule 2016. Other responsibilities include to suggest appropriate technology for treatment of the degradable waste, suggest technological solution for recycling, assessment of citizen’s views and to suggest appropriate IEC for generating mass awareness. In the second phase SIGMA Foundation will be responsible for imparting handholding training to various stake holders on SWM. The organisation will provide policy making and reforming suggestions in context of waste management of ULBs, monitoring and evaluation mechanism and addressing citizen centric grievance redressal mechanism.

SIGMA Foundation has already started the work with the first phase of consultation meetings with Durgapur, Asansol and Howrah Municipality.

On 26 November 2019 a dissemination workshop was organized at Mumbai by UNICEF Maharashtra and Department of Rural Development, Government of Maharashtra regarding studies conducted in 2018-19 on local governance in Maharashtra. SIGMA Foundation’s President, Dr M.N. Roy presented the results of the study on Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Maharashtra (GPDP) along with Mr Debraj Bhattacharya, Fellow, SIGMA Foundation. This study was carried out by SIGMA Foundation with a sample of 264 GPs across 12 districts of the state. Dr Roy emphasized the need for making participatory planning an annual exercise in the state.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Aseem Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of Rural Development, and had participation of officials from RDD, SIRD, Director RGSA, State Panchayat Directorate, MSRLM, CEOs and Deputy CEOs of Zilla Parishads, Vice-Presidents and Project Directors of District Livelihood Mission from all districts apart from officials of UNICEF Maharashtra.

Findings of the GPDP study triggered a lot of discussion on investment for women and children in GPDP, convergence with SRLM and ways to improve it, need for increasing GPDP resource envelope through SFC funds and capacity building needs for better planning and data management/monitoring. The presentation was appreciated by the Government of Maharashtra and UNICEF officials.

Under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed “West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project (WBDWSIP)”, SIGMA Foundation recently conducted time use surveys with 60 women and 60 men in 12 villages across 4 project blocks in Bankura. The primary objective of the survey was to measure time being spent by women in fetching water and other drudgeries which they have been facing because of poor WASH services. It also sought to capture the time spent by women in unpaid care giving activities and their perceptions regarding some basic gendered roles and responsibilities. The findings from the time use survey is going to guide SIGMA Foundation in the coming months for the preparation of a detailed Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Action Plan for the project.

SIGMA Foundation made a significant mark in International Chapters of Water Research in LET2019- 16th IWA Leading Edge Conference on Water and Waste Water Technologies in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Significantly, new critical water technology developments are emerging continuously and we all know about the importance to keep in exchange on latest research, to keep the momentum vibrant. Bringing innovations, novel technology developments and leading-edge applications from access the industry was the key concern. The program was focused on the issues, which are of highest concern globally and regionally. The conference embraced this concern with the careful development of each session to create cohesive and interesting discussions on innovative of the most impactful water technology approaches and guarantee the participation of the most significant water technology leaders and specialists of the water industry. This 2019 LET gave us the platform to share and debate with leading researchers in pioneering science, technological innovation and top practices that will provide solutions the emerging water challenges the world is facing.

Dr. M.N. Roy and Dr. Debasri Mukherjee from SIGMA Foundation were invited by Prof. Rahul Mukherjee-South Asin Institute (SAI) for delivering lectures on “water governance and water quality” at Heidelberg University, Germany 2019.