By IANS
Chennai : Two desalination plants and a healthcare centre, set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with KPMG group of industries as a relief measure for more than 1,000 victims of the December 2004 tsunami, were Tuesday opened in Tamil Nadu.
The disaster killed nearly 12,000 people on India’s east coast, mostly in Tamil Nadu, and snatched the homes and livelihood of about 200,000 people.
Built in Palaverkadu village in Thiruvallur district, about 50 km north from here, these initiatives were made possible with a $250,000 donation by KPMG International towards rehabilitation of tsunami victims.
The CII offered consulting services for the project and grass-root level initiatives were executed by AIM for Seva, a non-profit charitable trust.
“We are immensely proud to have been associated with this tsunami rehabilitation project. The work, so many of us at KPMG devoted to make this project a success, has led to a magnificent result, and once again reinforces our commitment to our communities,” Rupendra Singh, chairman of the KPMG Foundation in India, said at the opening of the facilities.
KPMG, CII and AIM for Seva have been working in partnership to develop rehabilitation projects in medical care and provide drinking water in the tsunami-affected villages in Tamil Nadu.
“This investment represents hope for thousands of people who lost everything in the tsunami and KPMG is proud to be part of the solution to a tragedy that demanded and still demands compassion, generosity and determination to rebuild with hope”, Michael Hastings, KPMG International’s global head of citizenship and diversity, said on the occasion.
Following the tsunami, 350 families in Vairam Kuppam and 400 families in Thirumalai Nagar have been plagued by lack of clean water, often having to take a ferry to the mainland to buy water at exorbitant rates.
The KPMG-funded desalination plants will produce clean, usable water for drinking, irrigation and industrial usage to these backwater habitats.
The plants will produce 1,000 litres of potable water per hour, using reverse osmosis and UV treatment to purify the water.
The multi-functional care centre hopes to improve health services in Palaverkadu where people will have to go 20 km for medical aid.
The centre provides basic and emergency medical care to 15 neighbourhood villages also, each comprising 300 families. It also promotes the use of herbal, ayurvedic, homeopathic and yoga techniques to prevent and cure common diseases, in tandem with modern medicine.
KPMG is the global network of professional service firms of KPMG International. KPMG member firms provide audit, tax and advisory services to the industry.