Huntsman Textile Effects officially unveiled an underground water tank it constructed in Baroda, India to help address the shortage of water faced by neighboring Luna village. The newly constructed 500 KL tank stores potable water to meet the needs of thousands of villagers.
Rohit Aggarwal, President of Huntsman Textile Effects, says, “At Huntsman Textile Effects, we recognize our responsibility to not only create value for our stakeholders, but to make a sustainable and vibrant world possible for future generations.”
Luna village received water from the Narmada water project, but due to insufficient storage capacity, the water was drained away in a nearby pond. In close consultation with major stakeholders including Sarpanch and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Huntsman’s Baroda site management proposed the construction of a water storage facility as a long-term solution for the village.
The project was operated on a Public-Private-Partnership model, and took close to two years to complete. Through a Memorandum of Understanding between Huntsman Textile Effects and the Luna local administration, the project was scoped out with committees formed with assigned roles and responsibilities prior to the start of work. With construction complete and all final inspections successfully concluded, Luna village takes over the running and maintenance of the water tank.
Huntsman invested and managed construction of the tank, working hand-in-hand with the Gujarat Water Board, which undertook the laying of pipelines, drilling of wells and other underground work required for a complete water solution.
Huntsman Textile Effects runs a range of other community initiatives from its facility in Baroda, including its award-winning Anandi program. The program mobilizes staff volunteers and company funding in support of community projects focused on education, health, water & sanitation and animal husbandry.