Mumbai Press Club hosts panel discussion on water conservation

Water - it's something most of us take for granted but the message that emerged from a panel discussion in Mumbai, "Water for Life", was that civilisations perished when water ran out. Therefore it is important to conserve and manage water efficiently.

The panel discussion was part of programmes to commemorate the conclusion of the United Nations' International Decade for Action, Water for Life (2005-15).

Nehru Science Centre and The Press Club, Mumbai, organised the panel discussion, which brought together several personalities whose research and ground work on water conservation and its management have borne very positive results.

The panel included Dr Rajendra Singh, the 2015 Stockholm World Water Prize Laureate, AK Sengupta, director general, International Academy of Environmental Sanitation and Public Health, who is involved in the Sulabh movement, Dr Smita Misra, lead water and sanitation specialist with the World Bank, Crispino Lobo, founder of Ahmednagar-based NGO Watershed Organisation Trust, Pallava Bagla, science correspondent, NDTV, Rajesh Tiwari, director general, Indian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR) and Damandeep Singh, who heads an NGO called Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The discussion was moderated by noted journalist Gurbir Singh, chairman of the Press Club, Mumbai.

The question-answer session at the end of the discussion reflected an audience that had done its homework well. It packed the Nehru Science Centre auditorium and comprised students of a teachers' training college, Gandhi Shikshan Bhavan, and a school, Rajhans Vidyalaya.

But the discussion itself drove home a few enlightening facts that focused on rural water supply and on pollution. It showed, for instance, how Dehradoon, which receives the heaviest rainfall in India after Cherapunji, suffers from scarcity of water.

This is because limestone mining in Dehradoon destroyed natural reservoirs, as a result of which water can no longer hold underground till the dry months.

On the other hand, the World Bank's Dr Misra pointed to a project in Uttarakhand, designed in 2006-07. Here instead of embarking on large projects of pumping water from rivers to hilltop settlements, the accent shifted to the use of what is known in local parlance, gadheras, or small streams of water flowing down from the hills. This water is diverted to reservoirs where it is stored. ''Through this method, we had water reaching the unreached,'' explained Dr Misra.

Other personalities on the panel also spoke about the work they were doing. NGO Watershed Organisation Trust's Lobo spoke about watershed development, about ''getting the water back into the soil'' in Ahmednagar, which receives only 15 days of rainfall a year. ''Still,'' he said, ''we manage to get enough moisture in the ground to ensure at least one crop a year. We can transform India's rural life with water.''

Another perspective on water came from Singh and ICCSR's Tiwari, who spoke about the role of industry and investment in water conservation and management.

Tiwari pointed out that ''contrary to what many in corporate circles believe, CSR is actually a profit centre''.  He described it as ''a deep-rooted business strategy aimed at increasing the top-line and the bottom-line.'' He also pointed out that given India's geographical location, ''we should have had several desalination plants dotting our coastline. Why do companies wait for the government to do it?'' 

Singh, whose NGO, CDP, assesses the impact on climate change and the environment made by various companies through questionnaires and interviews, said foreign investors were keen to know what Indian companies were doing about the water situation before they invested in India. ''Most of the investors are pension funds, which take a long-term view,'' he explained.

Sengupta spoke about the crying need for toilets - India needs 11 crore toilets. He pointed out that there were enormous savings in water consumption due to shapes of toilet bowls. ''A steeper toilet bowl is cleaned with a litre and a half of water whereas conventional toilet bowls need far more water,'' he revealed.

The discussion ended with a short question-answer session and the students took away the significant role a drop of water plays in the lives of people, the economies of nations and the well-being of humanity.