Save rainwater to reduce water scarcity

Save water through simple techniques - This was the message conveyed to the students of St. Joseph’s School in Malad at a rainwater harvesting slide show on August 19 on the occasion of the 9th OIOP Club opening in the school.

Water scarcity being a vexing problem for the city dwellers, students were only keen to learn more about different conservation methods. Rain is the cheapest and cleanest source of water but unfortunately more than 80 per cent of water is being washed away into drains and seas. If we store this water, then we can save ourself from water scarcity for atleast one year, said Dr. S. R. Kashyap of Eureka Forbes’ Institute of Environment. With the help of audio-visual tools, he explained the methods and advantages of rain water harvesting to children.

Kimberley Rodrigues

OIOP Clubs were initiated in schools to build a strong nation of socially responsible citizens. The Clubs have been conducting different activities to inculcate values and ethos in children that can help build a great, strong, and united nation – which is also the mission of OIOP Foundation. Elaborating on this vision, Mrs. Sucharita Hegde, trustee, OIOP Foundation called upon the students to uphold India’s rich heritage and culture, an issue which has been a part of the 20-point charter of OIOP Foundation. As the name suggests, One India One People stands for unity and love for our country. Thus appropriate to the occasion, Kimberley Rodrigues, a student, spoke on patriotism and called upon citizens to value our freedom and contribute to its greatness. She said, “India got freedom after thousands of brave patriots sacrificed their homes and families, education and jobs and even their lives. We have paid a huge price for our freedom. Anything we get by paying a huge price is called ‘precious’ so the most precious thing we have as a country is our freedom.”

Prapti Mehra, a student of Class IX ably anchored the programme

Mrs. Sucharita Hegde addresses the students

One of the prime objectives of One India One People (OIOP) Club is to sensitise the student community towards the problems of the society and thus make it a better place for everyone to live in. As water is one of the major problems in our society today, the OIOP Club decided to teach rain water harvesting to its members.

Though rains provide mankind with one of the most important necessities of human beings, water, only 3 per cent of it is stored and the remaining flows into the sea. It is said that if we do not use water sparingly, in another 5-6 years or so, Mumbai will be facing acute water shortage and availability of tap water would be a distant dream for all of us. To make its members aware of this reality, OIOP Club in association with the Eureka Forbes Institute of Environment organised a workshop on rain water harvesting at Chembur Karnatak School, Chembur; Anjuman-I-Islam High School, Bandra and the S. M. Shetty High School & Junior College, Powai in the month of August. Dr. S. R. Kashyap from the Eureka Forbes Institute of Environment, with the help of audio-visual tools, explained the methods and advantages of rain water harvesting to children. Dr. Kashyap also distributed worksheets on water scarcity and its conservation.

Rain water harvesting is the direct collection of rain water, which can be stored for direct use or can be recharged into the groundwater. The storage of rain water can be of many advantages such as low cost water supply, no wastage of land for storage purposes, reducing urban floods and more. Both children and the teachers not only enjoyed the presentation but also learnt the need to conserve water. They also found the methods to store rain water so easy that they resolved to take up rain water harvesting in their schools and homes.

Mrs. Salma Lokhandwala, Principal of Anjuman-I-Islam was pleased to see the interest of students in the workshop. “The thought-provoking and well presented lecture has enlightened our students and we look forward to more such OIOP Club activities in future also,” she said.
Mrs. Elizabeth Joy, Headmistress of Chembur Karnatak High School found the students’ interactive session with Dr. Kashyap very useful. She said, “The children and the staff, both are highly appreciative. We thank the initiative of One India One People in bringing awareness on important social issues such as rain water harvesting.”

Mrs. Kusum Midha, Principal, S.M. Shetty High School & Junior College, said, “The slide show was very informative as it gave the students complete knowledge on the methods of collecting monsoon water and thus use it throughout the year.”She added that the school looked forward to more such informative programmes under One India One People Club.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the workshop on rain water harvesting. We reproduce some of their views.