Continental India initiated a large-scale sustainable water conservation project at Anekal Taluk, Bengaluru, as part of its ongoing integrated rural development program. The water conservation projects include the construction of a mini reservoir, four check dams and 500 water absorption trenches at the Pearl Valley catchment area in Anekal Taluk. The project envisages the conservation of about 30,000,000 litres of water per annum, and benefit 2200 hectares of land across eight villages. United Way of Bengaluru is the implementation partner for the project.
The Ground-breaking ceremony was conducted by Prashanth Doreswamy, Head of Continental India, and Managing Director Continental Automotive India together with Lakshminarayana Swamy, Executive Officer of Anekal Taluk, President; Munirathna Anupamma Nagaraj, President of Gram Panchayat; Chaithra Babu, Vice President of Panchayat; and Avinash, Panchayat Development Officer (PDO).
Prashanth Doreswamy, Country Head – Continental India and Managing Director Continental Automotive India, said, “We rolled out the integrated rural development program at the Anekal Taluk in January 2020. Since then, we have initiated many community-building activities. With this water conservation project, we aim to achieve water security, improved biodiversity, and with it, improved levels of carbon sequestration. The earliest benefits will be addressing the acute water scarcity of adjacent villages for both agricultural and domestic use. We hope to achieve our overall objectives over the next few years.”
The total geographical area of the project is 2200 Hectares, with a total Catchment area of 10.5 Sq. KM and command area of 4046 hectares for the project.
In 2020, Continental began working with the gram panchayat of Anekal Taluk, Bengaluru Urban District, to implement sustainability initiatives in villages. With UnitedWay of Bengaluru as the NGO partner, Continental has implemented several initiatives including soil and water conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, rooftop rainwater harvesting, women’s livelihood support, aligned towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The program also focuses on interventions that will help in increasing livelihoods and household incomes by creating opportunities for entrepreneurship.