Hundreds of people in a Kolkata slum are able to wash their hands properly for the first time thanks to a partnership between Calcutta Rescue and UK NGO Every Well Water Foundation.
On 12 March, six handwashing stations at Dakshineswar slum in the north of the city were officially opened – helping reduce the risk of Covid-19 and of water-borne diseases which are common among the 800 people living there.
Each handwashing station has three basins and its own water tank and they have been positioned around the slum to provide easy access. In addition soap and health education is being provided to ensure that people understand the importance of good hygiene practices.
The whole project has been generously funded by Every Well Water and is the latest improvement at the slum by Calcutta Rescue which has already piped-in drinking water in 2018 and then installed toilets.
Its chief executive, Jaydeep Chakraborty, said: “Calcutta Rescue has been working for access to clean water in the slum communities for a long time. And this time we are delighted to partner with Every Well Water Foundation. We are grateful to them for their ongoing support for this important project which will significantly reduce the burden of disease in this community.”
Bani Pandey a resident of the slum area said, “I’m living in this slum area since 2000. We suffered a lot to fetch clean water for drinking as well as other household work. But four years ago Calcutta Rescue first came to our locality. From then on they helped us with lots of sanitary facilities. Calcutta Rescue said that to stop coronavirus infection we should wash hands frequently along with wearing masks. Water resources were limited. We could not think about using up too much. And now that we have handwashing basins, we can all use them. We don’t have to be scared of finishing our water resources anymore. We are so happy that Calcutta Rescue helped us so much.
