Benjamin Netanyahu gifts water-purifying desalination jeep to Modi
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on an official visit to India, will present his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, a special gift - the Gal-Mobile water desalination and purification jeep the two leaders rode on Israel's Olga beach last year. The jeep has reached India, sources have confirmed.
It has reached Delhi and is on its way to Bhuj. There will be a live demonstration of desalination of seawater that the two prime ministers will witness through video conferencing from the iCreate centre on Janaury 17, they said.
Netanyahu and Modi waded into the Mediterranean Sea and rode the "buggy" jeep on the coast during the latter's visit to Israel in July last year.
The jeep is said to cost around 390,000 shekels (approximately $111,000). Gal-Mobile is an independent, integrated water purification vehicle, designed to produce high-quality drinking water. It can be useful in natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, military use in difficult terrain and rural areas to provide drinkable water. It can purify up to 20,000 litre per day of seawater and 80,000 litre per day of brackish/muddy or contaminated river water and bring it to WHO standards. Modi and Netanyahu had witnessed the demonstration of seawater purification technology pioneered by Israel at a water desalination unit on the Olga Beach during the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Israel.
When you and I walked shoeless along the Mediterranean shore, we drank seawater that was purified before our eyes using technology that will save untold lives. India and Israel are working together to provide clean water, to increase crop yields, to keep our people safe from terrorism and other challenges to the future we both seek, PM Netanyahu said recently in New Delhi.
At the recently held India-Israel Business Summit, Modi said Israel's technology for land, water or space has won appreciation. "In fact, hailing from a water-deficient state in India, I have particularly admired Israel's water efficiency," he had said.
India and Israel recently signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cybersecurity and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by both the prime ministers. Today, Netanyahu will visit Gujarat for a day, where a mega roadshow from the airport to Sabarmati Ashram, and then visits to an entrepreneurial centre and a horticultural centre, are planned.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
Do you have an interesting story to share? Please write to us at [email protected]. To stay updated with more positive news, please connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.