Australian High Commissioner to India Patrick Suckling today inaugurated 'Stitch Your Future', a project aimed at helping women gain financial independence at Tulsi ghat here.
The project funded by Australian government is part of Satyagyan Foundation's initiative to establish 11 sewing centres and equip more than 300 women in the field with tailoring skills.
During his two-day visit here, Suckling also met river scientists and environmentalists and discussed issues concerning rejuvenation of river Ganga.
Speaking at the inauguration today, Suckling praised the foundation for taking an initiative to work for empowering women in India.
The 'Stitch Your Future' programme is one of the projects the Australian High Commission is supporting as part of its initiatives on International Women's Day.
The programme will be part funded by the Australian High Commission's Direct Aid Program with Satyagyan Foundation and Grameen Vikas Sansthan as implementing partners.
Suckling said that rural women in India are still struggling due to lack of awareness in many remote areas.
More social organisations should come forward with such schemes that may help to impart skill-based knowledge to women so they could work independently after getting the training and earn their livelihood, he said.
During the visit, Suckling met river scientist B D Tripathi, a former member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and environmentalist Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, president of Sankat Mochan foundation, an NGO working for cleaning the Ganga along with other environmentalists.
The Australian envoy was apprised by us on the cause of rising pollution in the Ganga and suggestions were given on how it can be controlled and the river can be rejuvenated, said Mishra, also a mahant of Sankat Mochan temple and a professor at Banaras Hindu University here.
India and Australia had agreed to collaborate on rejuvenating the Ganga river during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia last November for G-20 summit.
Both the countries had agreed on a two-way exchange and cooperation in river basin planning under the water partnership, and a new program of joint research on agricultural water management.
