Details of the programme:

Marking World Water Day 2026, the IITJ-JJM Center for Sustainable Drinking Water at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, in collaboration with SPM-NIWAS under the Jal Jeevan Mission, successfully conducted an online Capacity-Building Programme titled “Ensuring Sustainability of Water Sources for Improving WASH in Rural Areas.”

The programme received an overwhelming response with 253 registrations and more than 100 participants, including professionals, government officials, researchers, and stakeholders from across the country.

The session began with a welcome address by Prof. Pradip K. Tewari, who emphasized the importance of sustainable water management for public health and rural development. An insightful address was delivered by Mr. Nanakkumar Santdasani, WASH Officer at UNICEF Rajasthan, who shared his experience in the development sector and highlighted key challenges in rural WASH implementation.

The technical sessions included:

• An invited talk by Dr. Sovik Das (IIT Delhi) on “Undetected, Unregulated, Unsafe: The Reality of Emerging Contaminants in Our Water,” covering microplastics and household contaminants, detection challenges, and treatment and removal strategies.
• Another invited talk by Mr. Amit Singh, Chief Chemist, PHED Haryana, on “Water Quality Testing, Monitoring, Accreditation & Conservation,” which also discussed groundwater contamination issues such as uranium.

During the programme, the results of the National Water Sustainability & Desalination Hackathon 2026 were also announced, recognizing outstanding innovations in water sustainability.

In addition to the technical sessions, an open forum discussion was organized to enhance the effectiveness of the programme. During this session, participants actively shared their ideas, real-life challenges, and discussed practical solutions.