parallel celebrations in birthday week include : 80 times more economical dinking water -grameen veolia project has been launched in Daudkandi upazila here to supply drinking water to the people of the arsenic-hit people. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haq formally inaugurated the project opening a water treatment plant at Goalmari in the upazila on Wednesday. It is the first project of Grameen Veolia Water Limited, established jointly by Grameen Health Care Services Limited and France Violia Water. On the occasion, a programme was held on the premises of Goalmari High School. Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, also chairman of Grameen Veolia Water Limited, Maj Gen (retd) Subed Ali Bhuiyan MP, Chief Executive Officer of France Violia Water Antoine Frerot and Managing Director of Grameen Veolia Water Limited Patrick Rousseau were present. Under the project, pure water will be supplied to 7,500 families of Padua and Goalmari unions through the 7kms pipeline network at a nominal price. Meghna River will be the main source of water in the project. In the initial level, 30,000 litres of pure water will be supplied through 11 taps in Goalmari daily and the project work will be extended to the Padua union gradually. Local people can collect water from the taps at a fixed time daily. If the project works successfully, Grameen Veolia Water Limited will set up 20 more water treatment plants across the country by 2012.