Young Israeli tourists are so common in India that in certain regions, restaurants hang signs and write menus in Hebrew. But Israel is now in the process of sending more than just tourists to the region. At the end of April, Israeli news site Ynet reported that Israel would be sending engineers, researchers and representatives from water technologies companies to help India clean up the notoriously-polluted Ganges River.
The river has become an increasingly problematic site for India as it has caused the spread of infections and diseases. Since February, the Indian government has been gearing up a campaign to clean up the river, promoting its importance as a religious site and also as a freshwater resource.
As Israeli experts fly overseas, Indian researchers and water tech company representatives, including members of the government-formed India Institute of Technology (IIT), will fly to Israel to learn about sewage treatment, water purification, desalination and water resource management from Israeli companies that work in the field and the Israel Water Authority.
The goal is that the Indian experts will be able to return home and incorporate some of what they learn into the Ganges River project.
Israel has been building business partnerships with India and China over the last few years and this January, Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu announced a plan to build two new railways linking the country’s two seas, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in the south. The 220 mile passenger train between Tel Aviv and Eilat would also ease China’s and India’s ability to trade across the Middle East and to Europe.
Cooperation between Israel and India has also had more colorful iterations. Over a year ago, Israeli industrial engineer Noa Lerner was struck by the problem of untreated sewage in slums and designed a mobile public toilet to ease the problem.
But with water being a central environmental challenge facing Israel, as well as many other Middle Eastern countries, the small desert country was a perfect destination for India to seek help. In fact, for Israel’s official 64th Independence Day celebration on April 26, the government-designed ceremony was themed around water, honoring twelve leading experts from various water-related fields in Israel.
“Israel is considered a world leader in water technologies, and is well prepared to offer various solutions to the Indian government in this matter,” Oded Distal, Manager of the unit to promote investments in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor told Ynet.
Image from Flickr via amanderson
Author: Shifra Mincer
Shifra Mincer, Associate Editor, AOL Energy, has reported on a wide range of topics for over half a decade. As a News Editor of the Harvard Crimson, she wrote on local news and assisted with newspaper layout and design. Mincer is based in New York and is currently founding a business intelligence newsletter for the Israeli clean tech industry. She can be reached at [email protected]
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Population density in India is horrible, witness “SlumDog Millionaire” as they dangle the vain hope of wealth to spur the people to remain struggling within the social system regardless of the environment. If planet Earth were growing it might accomodate a growing human population, but it’s shrinking with each volcano, earthquake and ton of coal, oil and other minerals dug and pumped up out of the ground every day. But the fascination with wealth obscures the vision of growth-addicted entrepreneurs, so they all hide from the consequences of ecocide and extinction.
Not just river Ganges,a lot many rivers and tributaries are dangerously polluted in India which requires cleaning on a war footing and Isrels expertise in this field is highly appreciated
JTR. ” The Israelis must already know the Ganges is polluted because of extreme overpopulation.” First not only Israelis but lot of people in India and abroad know river Ganges is polluted. I would say not the whole of Ganges is polluted,I would say from Haridwar downstream is more polluted than upstream. I have had the water tested form Haridwar it has some toxins,but would not kill you,it has high level of calcium.It has nothing to do with population of India, China is also more populated , but its rivers are far more cleaned that India’s, because India don’t care.
India has a population problem with muslims breeding like RATS.Is there any wonder since 1948 muslim population has gone from 7% to 18% now.
The Israelis must already know the Ganges is polluted because of extreme overpopulation. So, will they advise the Indian authorities to promote family planning education with every woman’s right to decide if and when to conceive and birth her children?