Galaxy builds check dam for Palghar villagers
Villages of Kharonda in the district of Palghar, Maharashtra, receive surplus rainfall. However, it is water deficit for over 8-9 months of the year. This is due to the lack of water storage facilities in the village. As a result, villagers were forced to migrate during these months. The problems of the villagers of Kharonda came to the attention of the team at Galaxy Surfactants Limited. It was decided that constructing a check dam would mitigate the problems of these villages.
The team set out to work with the locals, and the land for this was generously donated by two farmers, Babji Sonya Ravate and Nandu Navsha Nadage. Plans were drawn and the company engineers participated fully in the construction of 2 check dams.
Project 1 was the construction of a check dam at Navlyachapada, which helped in storing 20 lakh litres of water. Gaining from this experience, the Team at Galaxy set out to work for Project 2 at Kharonda Village. The construction of the second dam was completed successfully in record time with a capacity of 1.15 crore litres. This project was 5 times bigger in scale. It will help transform the lives of over 530 families and 2500 people, who can now live & earn their livelihood without having to migrate. U Shekhar, the company’s managing director, said, “We use water to make high quality surfactants, but no one can make water. Everyone can save water, and we help to save water.”
Galaxy Surfactants Ltd. has achieved significant progress on its Sustainability Goals 2020. It has succeeded in exceeding its goal of tree plantations (over 42,000 trees). Life Cycle Assessment studies have been completed for select major products to estimate environmental impacts over the product life cycle. Galaxy is working towards incorporating sustainability across its supply chain by assessing its suppliers on their environment and social performance. Its manufacturing sites in India and Egypt are RSPO certified, which reflects commitment to a sustainable palm oil supply chain.
Under their CSR Project VATAVARAN SURAKSHA, Galaxy has undertaken various water harvesting and restoration initiatives for the benefit of the community at large. They have been working towards reducing their water footprint through projects involving innovative practices like recharging of bore wells, construction of KFP structures and restoration of lakes.
