RAIN, RAIN, DON’T GO
AWAY!
A
short story on how to make every drop of water count
By
AR Shivakumar
Ani: Amma... (Panting) Give some water to drink! I am so
thirsty. The football game was tiring!
Mother: Go on Ani, drink water from the tap.
Ani: The tap has sooooo.... much water!
Mother: Yes, you can drink as much as you want!
Ani: Where does the tap get water from?
Mother: From the tank on the roof.
Ani: Where will the tank get water from?
Mother: From the underground sump.
Ani: ????? Where does
the sump get water from?
Mother: From pipes of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage
Board (BWSSB)! Now, why this flood of questions, Ani?
Ani: ????? Amma, where
do the pipes get water from?
Mother: The BWSSB has huge reservoirs that have been built
in many places in and around the City. These reservoirs get water from River
Cauvery.
Ani: Where is River Cauvery?
Mother: It is about 100 km from Bangalore.
Ani: Why can’t we pump all the water from River Cauvery
to Bangalore? Then, we won’t have any water problems.
Mother: Our neighbouring state too depends on River Cauvery for
its drinking water needs.
Ani: Where does River Cauvery get water from?
Mother: The rain feeds the river. Rivers in South India are
rain-fed, while those in the Himalayas are fed by glaciers.
Ani: Oh! It rains here too, doesn’t it?
Mother: Yes, it does.
Ani: If the rain feeds a river like Cauvery, why can’t
the same rain fulfil our water needs? Why should we pump water from the river?
Mother: We depend on piped water supply because we neither
collect rainwater nor do we harvest it.
Ani: Mummy, why aren’t we harvesting rainwater in our house?
Mother: We should. Let’s talk to Papa about it.
The next morning
Ani: Mummy, how can we collect rainwater?
Papa: And once you’ve finished, come and read the newspaper with
me!
Ani: (taking the newspaper from Papa) ‘Karnataka makes
rainwater harvesting compulsory’. Wow! Lots of people seem to be thinking about
the rain. How do you harvest rain, Papa?
Papa: Ani, get ready for school now. You are running late! And,
ask your Science teacher about harvesting rain!
In the School Bus
Ani: Yesterday, I got a racing car as a return present at
Sourav’s birthday party.
Sachin: I missed the party.
Ani: Why weren’t you there?
Sachin: My father was getting the sump at home cleaned. It was so
dirty! As Papa was busy the whole day, he could not drop me off to Sourav’s
house.
Ani: How did you know that the sump was dirty?
Sachin: The water that came from the tanker supply was muddy,
smelly and yucky!
Ani: My mother said that we can drink rainwater. It is
very clean – cleaner than tap water!
In School
Ani: Teacher, my father has asked me to find out about
rainwater harvesting.
Teacher: Rainwater harvesting is a method of collecting rainwater
and storing it for future use. The water from the roof can be guided to a
storage tank through a filter.
Ravi: Can we drink rainwater?
Teacher: Yes, rainwater is the primary source of water for our
rivers, lakes, wells and borewells. It is one of the purest forms of water. We
can drink it as long as it is not contaminated by dust, bird dropping or litter.
Nikhil: Can rainwater meet all our daily needs?
Teacher: Rainwater is Nature’s gift to us. There is a family in
Vijayanagar that has been using rainwater for all their needs for 22 years now.
I will organise a visit to a very special park in Jayanagar 5th
Block, where you will get to see the benefits of rainwater harvesting.
Ani: Thank you teacher. We will tell our parents to
harvest rainwater in our houses too.
http://rainmanspeaks.blogspot.in/2014/04/new-feather-in-cap-of-bangalore.html
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