Brandix donates Rs 25mn to Water Research & Training Centre
28 Sep '07
4 min read
The battle against water-borne health hazards in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, home to more than a million people, took a giant step forward when Brandix Lanka Limited, the country's largest apparel exporter, donated to the government a purpose-built training and laboratory complex dedicated to improving the quality of potable water in the province.
Constructed and equipped at a cost of Rs 25 million by Brandix in partnership with GAP Inc USA for and in consultation with the Water Resources Board (WRB), the 'Water Resources Research and Training Centre' in Korakahawewa, six kilometres from the historic sacred city of Anuradhapura, will conduct training and educational programmes on the ill-effects of the consumption of contaminated drinking water and on the use of cheap but effective purification and filtration techniques.
Speaking at the formal inauguration of this groundbreaking facility, Irrigation and Water Management Minister and Minister of Ports and Aviation Chamal Rajapakse MP said his government was deeply appreciative of the sense of purpose and empathy with the community displayed by Brandix in funding the construction of the Centre as a corporate social responsibility initiative.
This project, Minister Rajapakse said, is an example of the meaningful results that can be achieved through private and public sector partnership, for the upliftment of living conditions in rural Sri Lanka. The government of President Mahinda Rajapakse iscommitted to facilitating such partnerships and would study the results achieved by the Centre for possible replication in other parts of the country, he said.
Water Resources Board Chairman Prof. M. de S. Liyanage said the Centre was expected to play a catalytic role in making water quality a priority for the people of Anuradhapura, and would be a valuable resource to the country as a whole. The testing facilities of the Laboratory at the Centre would be made available to other institutions and researchers to test water quality, he said.
Speaking on behalf of Brandix, Lal Fonseka, Productivity Resultant at Brandix Lanka Limited said the rationale for the Centre and its location in Anuradhapura was the high incidence in the North Central Province (NCP) of Dental Fluorosis, Chronic Renal Failure and other health hazards associated with contaminated drinking water.
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