Project completed for the time being but can be resumed if necessary.

Water pump project in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)

Kolkata is the capital of the state of West Bengal and with about 14,85 million inhabitants (2020) the third largest metropolis in India after Dehli and Mumbai (Bombay). New refugees from nearby Bangladesh stream into Kolkata daily. The provision of infrastructure for water supply, waste disposal, etc. by the city administration is difficult. The heavy air pollution is an additional burden on the city and its inhabitants. Kolkata is located near the largest river delta in the world where the Ganges and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal. The city is crossed by the large river “Hooghly” from which most of the water for the supply of the city's inhabitants is extracted, a smaller part is groundwater. When ‘we care’ launched its activity in India in 2002, many water pipes in Kolkata were old, rusted, and leaking, resulting in a large loss of water. The people in the slums, of which there are an estimated 5,000 to 5,500 in Kolkata, suffered most from this. For them, there is hardly any access to clean water because the slums have last priority in the construction of water pipes, the many illegal slums have no right to any infrastructure at all. Thousands of people have to make do with a single water pump, with the water serving not only as drinking water but also for personal hygiene, laundry, etc. For the latter purposes, many people are forced to use water from polluted ponds or other stagnant water bodies from which animals also drink. Contact with contaminated water can trigger a wide variety of diseases, especially in weakened people.

‘We care ’set up additional water pumps in these slums, one pump costing around CHF 1,500 at that time. The main beneficiaries are the children who are often malnourished and thus particularly susceptible to diseases. Access to clean water enables them and their families to enjoy a higher quality of life and improved health. Both promote productivity.