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Austrians give clean water to Galle
A team of Austrian military personnel began a water-purifying project to provide drinking water for the tsunami-battered town of Galle. The Austrian forces disaster relief unit set up base at Hiyare in Galle in the vicinity of a lake, from which they would be collecting water and purifying it in keeping with the Austrian standards for drinking water, the unit's chief Dr.Heinz Rabitsch said.

At least 77 personnel will be incorporated in the project, initially planned for a month but could be extended, he said. The team arrived with a cargo plane of goods including tents, food, chemicals and other essentials needed for a self-sufficient laboratory which they set up at the venue. Three other planes will arrive shortly with more equipment he said.

The transportation and distribution of the purified water will be the task of the Galle Municipal Council while the Austrians will provide the foldable water tanks, which can hold upto 5000 litres of water.

The team is capable of producing upto 300,000 litres of drinking water and their production will depend on the demand," Dr.Rabitsch said. There will be strict quality checks on the water, he added.

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