Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, the market leader in Oral Care, in partnership with the nonprofit organization Water For People India Trust, launched its Amravati Water initiative today in the Amravati District of Maharashtra. This program is an expansion of ColgateÕs partnership with Water For People after their successful collaboration in Bihar and West Bengal since 2013. This program will support availability and accessibility of water, awareness towards hygiene and sanitation (WASH program), and other initiatives such as water conservation and rainwater harvesting. Amravati District in Maharashtra faces extreme water scarcity and challenges in accessing potable water for daily living. The Amravati Water Program will begin by focusing on talukas, such as Nandgaon Khandeshwar, Chikaldhara and Dharni, where water-related issues are acute. The program will cover five gram panchayats (15 villages) in the first year, with a projected cumulative coverage of 10-12 gram panchayats (36 villages) over a period of three years. Overall, approximately 41,000 people will directly benefit in the most in-need villages. The emphasis will be on ensuring access to safe drinking water and testing innovative, low-cost technologies towards provision of safe drinking water. The program will engage local communities for construction and rehabilitation of water facilities and operations and maintenance of community water schemes. It will also promote working together with the state and local government to provide a sustainable model for easy access to potable water and water for sanitation. In schools, the program will focus on water for sanitation, safe drinking water, and hygiene promotion. Speaking at todayÕs inauguration ceremony, Mr. Issam Bachaalani, Managing Director at Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited, said, "We are happy to launch the program in Amravati in partnership with Water For People, after the successful implementation of our Water initiatives in Bihar and West Bengal. At Colgate, we believe in contributing to the communities where we live and work to help co-create a sustainable environment that enables all of us to live healthy, safe, and empowered lives. This water program in Amravati is our small, but meaningful step to enable availability of clean water, and weÕll continue to strive towards building a future that everyone can smile about."