 |
A student expressing her view |
Sixteen projects on rain water harvesting have been completed at different schools in the four major cities in Madhya Pradesh, India, under a unique partnership spearheaded by UN-HABITAT and bringing together education institutions, government agencies and corporate bodies.
The cities benefitting from the initiative are Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior. Last month saw a dedication ceremony held in Bhopal for the 16 Rain Water Harvesting systems which were the result of the partnership which brings together UN-HABITAT, Coca Cola India, Lake Conservation Authority (LCA) of Madhya Pradesh and the education department of Madhya Pradesh.
The systems, having a combined potential to harvest 3.6 million litres of rain water annually at normal rainfall, will benefit nearly 18,000 students besides the communities around these schools by raising awareness regarding rain water harvesting.
The dedication ceremony was attended by Mr. Saleem Romani, Former Chairman, Central Ground Water Board; Mr. Rajeev Singh Tomar, District Education Officer, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Mr. Deepak Jolly, Vice President, Public Affairs & Communication, Coca-Cola India; the Principals of Government Sarojini Naidu Girls Higher Secondary School, Hamidia Government Higher Secondary School and Deepshikha School; teachers and students of participating schools; and Officials of LCA and UN-HABITAT.
In his address Mr. Romani said that conservation of fresh water is a global challenge and needs urgent attention. Rain water harvesting has emerged as a viable option to redirect rain water into the ground, which otherwise goes waste, he said and underscored the need to persuade more people and society at large to take up rain water harvesting projects. He hoped that there shall be more such examples of private-public partnership in the area of water conservation and recharging ground water. He congratulated the principals and the partners in these projects specially UN-HABITAT, LCA and Coca-Cola India.
Mr. Jolly said: “Water is fundamental to all communities and we understand that businesses thrive only amidst vibrant and sustainable societies. Water management remains a priority with us and the Coca-Cola Company pursues a 3R program of Reduce, Recycle and Replenish to achieve water neutrality and attain the objective of water management and conservation in India. We have several partnerships with NGOs and local communities across the country for undertaking water conservation projects and are happy to announce the completion of this large multiparty project today in Madhya Pradesh.”
Mr. Tomar appreciated the successful implementation of the programme and stressed the need for similar Public-Private Partnership models to carry forward and replicate the programme. He expressed the Education Department was willing and would lend every possible support to UN-HABITAT to expand the Rain water harvesting programme to other Schools of the District and to disseminate the message for water conservation among the community. |
