ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/7/2003 27 March 2003
Australian High Commissioner commemorates World Water Day with Delhi's school children
The Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penny Wensley AO, today presented prizes to children from several Delhi schools who participated in essay and painting competitions during the week to mark World Water Day.
The essay and painting competitions, supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), are part of Jal Utsav, a month-long series of events held in Delhi to promote awareness on water-related issues and to encourage responsible water use.
The High Commissioner commended the children for their excellent essays and paintings that clearly demonstrate their understanding and appreciation of the water related environmental challenges that confront the world today.
These painting and essay competitions complement the AusAID supported Swatcha Ganga Chhatra Sangam, a youth congress aimed at raising awareness about pollution of the Ganges River, inaugurated by the Australian High Commissioner in Varanasi earlier this year.
Stressing that young people have a crucial role to play, the High Commissioner noted that Australia was supporting several government schools in Sikkim's capital Gangtok to enhance awareness among children on water conservation, health and hygiene, and environmental protection. Australia is also helping to upgrade toilet and water supply facilities in these schools.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer recently announced support to a seven-year A$39 million water supply and sanitation reform program focused on north-eastern India. The program will assist Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, and Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, to upgrade their water and environmental sanitation arrangements to benefit an estimated 400,000 residents.
Australia will also extend assistance for water and sanitation reform in the South Asian region through a A$3 million co-financing program delivered by the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program for South Asia.
For further information, please contact Megan Anderson, Second Secretary, Development Cooperation, at 2688 8223, extension 562.