This post is a part of Neer, a collaborative project by DCB Bank and Chaaipani to bring out stories of individuals and initiatives that are working hard and smart to save water.
Today is Earth Day. 22nd of April. What that means is, you have to care for Earth and all of it’s elements, think about preserving it.
Maybe throw away plastic tomorrow, use 3 buckets of water just because you can, use chemicals on your farm, but not today. If I couldn’t convey tone above, I was being sarcastic. The reason we make less of a dent in the imbalance in environmental and climate mishap is because a lot of our numbers do not fully understand the what, the why, and the hows. But as J. K. Rowling put it,
“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” ~Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Trust a child’s innocence to embarrass you for your misgivings. But their mind questions something, when there is an anomaly they can question. Keeping that in mind, this year Earth Day Network has started an Environment and Climate Literacy Campaign, which is to ensure that by the year 2020, each and every student from Kindergarten to grade 12, graduates an environment and climate literate citizen.
Here’s are some of our champions at Chaaipani, who’re here to answer your how of change.
DCB Bank
Employees of DCB Bank‘s MMO branch came together to do their bit to clean their surrounding area. Situated in Dongri area of Mumbai, the branch shares a common wall with the local shops which are infamous for unhygienic environment and littering. The local residents are also prone to dumping garbage through their windows and not practice proper waste management.
In order to tackle this menace, DCB Bank’s employees got together with HELP group (ALM), BMC authorities, female students from Hirjee Alarakhia and Laljee Sajun School, and Mr. Amin Patel (MLA). The BMC donated 200 dustbins which were distributed in three adjacent buildings. The message to promote a Clean & Green Dongri was reiterated by the ALM members and Mr. Amin Patel to all. They also personally went door to door to promote clean living.
All students were enthusiastic and they were constantly chanting slogans to encourage residents to take up clean habits. The walls which hitherto were spoilt by dumping garbage were beautifully painted depicting social messages by the students with the help of an Art Teacher. Over 300 people participated in this activity and this should discourage people from littering. “We want to spread the message for a “Clean & Green Dongri”. So we not only gave out dustbins but also plants to all the volunteers. We encouraged on-lookers to refrain from throwing trash on the roads and encouraged them to plant more trees”, says BK, a DCB Bank employee who was involved in the activity.
Sankalp Sharma
“I am following a concept called zero budget natural farming, which is the brainchild of Subash Palekar. I did extensive research and found out that people who implement Natural Farming do not use any chemicals and pesticides. Cow urine and dung can be used for pesticides and fertilizers. In the long run, chemicals will reduce the yield of the farm.”
Read the full story here.
Retired Colonel Suresh Patil
“There are cascading benefits. The water holding capacity increases, we give most of the soil to the farmers and the rest of the soil is used to plant trees on the periphery of the lake which would attract the bird life. The place has become a tourist destination, where families come for picnics.”
Read the full story here.
2nd Grade Students
“Some students recognized another interesting point. They realized that a lot of them don’t finish the water in their water bottles every day. Most of them go back home to have it being poured down the drains, the bottles washed and cleaned to be refilled the next day. This was happening in every class, not just one. This meant gallons of water was being wasted every day. Could there be a way to use this water effectively?”
Read the full story here.
Residential Society in Pune
Mr. Santosh Maskar, the brain behind the project!
“1200 apartments, 5000 residents, 24×7 water supply, a tanker-free residency, plants watered through drip irrigation, minimum consumption of water by flush tanks, borewell water that has a hardness of just 250 dH, 3000 trees planted within the society, 92,000 units of electricity saved in a year, a tangible direct saving of Rs. 103,390 in energy expenses this year and much, much more.”
Read the full story here.
Educate yourself and others around you. To help Earth Day Network, visit this link. Take action. The earth is moving, so should you.
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