Tag: Relevant issue

Consumer Rights and Responsibilities

 In the highly competitive and profit-driven business world, Consumer Rights play a key role to protect them from any kind of unfair trade practices. It also protects the consumers from the unsafe or dangerous products that can harm their health and well-being. The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 aims to give consumers rights to fight any injustice. The Act has gone through some changes over the years, the latest change took place in 2019. 

The Consumer Protection act aims to provide easy compensation to those affected by any injustice, and encourages the consumers to speak up and take action against it. It covers all the goods and services by all the public, private and cooperatives, except some exempted by the government. The Act promotes settlement of consumer disputes. 

What are Consumer Rights ?

Right to safety: It provides the consumers safety against goods that are hazardous and have the potential to affect life and property. Consumers should emphasize on the quality and safety factors of the product before buying it. Quality marked products such as ISI, AGMARK, etc. should be prefered. 

Right to be Informed: It consists of the right of the consumers to be informed about the quality, purity, standard, and price of the goods properly. Before deciding to buy, the consumers must consider knowing all of this information related to the product. 

Right to Choose: This includes the rights to access the variety of goods and services at competitive prices, wherever it is possible. With the case of monopoly markets, it refers to the right to be assured of good quality at a fair price. 

Rights to Consumer Education: It includes the rights of the consumer to gain the knowledge and become an informed consumer. It is extremely important to be informed, because most of the exploitation takes place with the advantage of lack of awareness and ignorance among the consumers. 

Right to be Heard: This means that consumers have the right to raise or represent their concern and interests at various consumer forums to ensure their welfare. The consumer’s interests will be given due consideration under this right. 

Right to seek Redressal: It is one of the most important rights of a consumer to seek redressal against any unfair trade practice experienced by them. It can help them to have a fair settlement or get the required compensation. They can also take the help of the consumer organisations in the process of seeking redressal. 

In case of any trouble or injustice, the consumers can file a complaint within two years of buying the product. The details of the problem should be mentioned in the complaint along with relevant bills and receipts attached to it. The written complaint should be submitted to the consumer forum for further action. 

As a consumer, it is our duty to be aware about the rights and responsibilities before buying a product or service, in order to avoid any injustice or exploitation.


Covid-19 and Global Food Security

 The unprecedented pandemic has impacted the world in multiple ways. It has affected the years of development done in terms of food security in the countries. The Covid pandemic has increased the global food insecurity, and its impact is expected to be seen in 2021 and 2022. Initially, as the pandemic broke out, sudden closure of borders, trade restrictions and lockdown measures had disrupted the food supply and distribution pattern completely. 

It reduced the access to inputs and services, as labour movement and transports were blocked. The farmers struggled to access the market to sell and buy products properly during the lockdown in different countries. The locust outbreak that happened in 2020, also destroyed the food and other crops in the agricultural lands. Farmers were the worst hit by this locust crisis. 

Higher pricing of food and reduced income in the households is another prime reason that has impacted the accessibility of food. Due to financial shortage caused by lower income or loss of livelihood, more and more households have been forced to reduce their quality and quantity of food consumed. A number of countries reported food inflation during the pandemic. 

Climate change has led to adverse climatic conditions all over the globe. Extreme weather conditions seen in different places such as temperature rise, heat waves, extreme rainfall and drought have impacted agriculture and food production. This has further disrupted the food supply chain system, leading towards food insecurity.

A survey done by the World Bank in 48 countries reveals that people were either running out of food or were lowering their consumption. This reduced calorie intake can affect the health of the people, due to lack of essential nutrients. The UN’s report on “State of food security and nutrition in the world” states that between 720 to 811 million people worldwide, went hungry in 2020. Lower consumption of food is a major health concern. It can lead to problems like malnutrition, especially among children. The pandemic has led 1.6 million children out of their schools, depriving them from the nutritious meals provided. 

The World Food Programme‘s (WFP) annual review of 2020, shows that the pandemic pushed 124 million people into poverty, leading to an increase in hunger and the threats of famine in some areas. But WFP states that the goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030, is still possible with worldwide efforts and cooperation to plan out a better future. 

Such difficult times call for global solidarity and support. The government and the international organizations should cooperate in order to help those affected by food insecurity. Monetary help as well as access to adequate food resources can be provided to them.

This food insecurity in the times of pandemic has highlighted the importance of developing long-term sustainable strategies to deal with the challenges in agriculture and food supply.


Disparities in Health Care

 The issues around health infrastructure and access to facilities have gained momentum in the Covid-19 pandemic. Health plays an integral part in human development. WHO defines health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. 

Better health is important to human happiness and well-being. Everybody knows the importance of healthcare these days, given the pandemic situation. But an important question that needs to be addressed is that does everyone have access to healthcare facilities? 

Access to quality health services is imperative for prevention and treatment of diseases. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2005-2006 reveals that 58.2% women from the rural areas belonging to the age group of 15-49 are anaemic. Sanitation and hygiene are crucial to maintain good health. As per the survey of 2005, only 30-35% rural households have access to proper toilet facilities. 

Access to safe drinking water is another major problem in rural areas. In many areas, safe drinking water from tap, borewell, pipeline or pump is not available. The people of these areas travel for hours to access drinking water. Lack of water or exposure to unhealthy drinking water can affect the health of the people. 

The disparity between rural and urban health infrastructure was evident in the NFHS. Mortality of infants and children in the rural areas is about 50% more than that of the urban areas. People from the rural areas spend far less on healthcare facilities. According to a report by the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health ( NCMH), 80% of the health infrastructure, medical manpower, and other health resources belong to the urban areas. The socio-economically weaker people from the rural areas are the most affected by the highly expensive healthcare and lack of infrastructure. 


The rate of malnutrition in rural areas is alarming. There is a glaring difference between rural and urban healthcare which is evident from the rate of  Anemia, disability, death rate, birth rate, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, total fertility rate, communicable diseases, sanitation and hunger. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005, with the aim to provide equitable, accessible and affordable quality healthcare to the rural population. It focuses especially upon the vulnerable groups. NRHM aims to improve the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health services. 

Poor health leads to lower productivity and deprivation among the people of rural areas. Poor health care is a constraint in the process of development. Effective implementation of the healthcare schemes is necessary to uplift the facilities and make healthcare accessible to the people residing in the rural areas. 

As the famous saying states “Health is Wealth”, health and development have a positive correlation. Therefore it is crucial to develop the health facilities in order to eradicate the rural-urban divide and develop rural India.


A Brief History of Pandemics

 The world is still fighting with the coronavirus, after more than a year of it being officially declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). A pandemic is an epidemic that crosses the borders of one country. Pandemics can have a severe and long term impact on humankind. 

Pandemics in History

There have been several instances of pandemics since the ancient times, when modern medicine and science was not much developed. Earlier, people believed that a disease was caused by gods or spirits to inflict destruction upon those who deserve it. But this unscientific perception prevented them from treating the patient properly and led to the death of millions of people. 

There were a number of plague epidemics and pandemics in history, especially in the times of war. The Anthenian plague was spread between 430 to 26 B.C. It originated in Ethiopia during the Peloponnesian War. It spread to different parts of Egypt and Greece. The overcrowded city of Athens became severely affected and many lives were lost due to the rapid spread of the disease. Similarly, the Antonine Plague between 165-180 A.D, infected the Roman Empire. 

The Justinian plague was known as the “real plague” epidemic. It originated in Ethiopia and spread to different parts through trade. It was one of the most severe plagues which led to lonely and deserted streets as trade activities were abandoned. The Black Death of 1334, originated in China and spread to several parts of central Asia, North India, Russia and Europe.

Spanish Flu was caused between 1918 to 1920 by the H1N1 strain of the Influenza virus. Its spread happened in the middle of World War-1. This avian borne flu was one of the most spread pandemic, it infected almost all the parts of the globe. It had a higher mortality than the previous virus and had a deeper impact on humankind. It caused nearly 50 million deaths worldwide. Even after its deadly impact, the virus faded away easily from everyone’s attention because of the ongoing World War at that time. Some writers have written about it as the “forgotten pandemic”. 

The Ebola outbreak was one of the most recent outbreaks, between 2014 and 2016. It mostly affected Central and Western Africa. But it was efficiently contained and did not spread rapidly all over the world.  


Covid-19 Pandemic

The pandemic caused by coronavirus originated in China in November, 2019. It was officially declared as a pandemic by WHO, on March 11, 2020. By that time it had spread to 114 countries. Methods such as quarantine, isolation and lockdown were implemented to curb its spread. New developments related to medicines, treatment, and vaccination have been developed over time. 

The vaccines stand as a ray of hope to overcome the Covid pandemic in near future.


Is Climate Change happening now?

 The effects of climate change are very evident with the temperature rise experienced globally. Change in temperature, frequent forest fires, melting of ice, extreme and unusual rainfall, should be a wake up call for us to consider the phenomenon of climate change seriously. 

In 2020, the number of fire alerts for wildfires went up by 13% globally as per the World Wide Fund for nature (WWF). The planet became 5 degrees warmer in 5,000 years, but the predicted rate of warming in the next century is 20 times faster. The matter of concern is that a 3 degrees celsius rise in temperature can affect upto 43% of the glaciers of the Himalayan mountains. As a consequence of losing the glaciers, the region can suffer from water scarcity. 


Climate Change in India

In a recent report in the Indian Express, the director general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mr. Mrityunjay Mohapatra had explained the causes and projections of extreme weather conditions in India. Heavy rainfall was seen in states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, and Maharashtra. Whereas a low rainfall was seen in Kerala, Jharkhand and some other areas. But the total amount of rain received remained constant. This indicates that in some places, either it rained to an extreme extent or there was no rain at all. 

The reason for this extreme weather condition was cited to be the rise in temperature. The Global rise in temperature has gone up by 1.2 degrees Celsius as compared to the past hundred years. In India, it has increased by 0.6 degrees Celsius. It has mostly affected the Northern, Central and Eastern parts of the country. 

This rise in temperature not only affects the surface but also the troposphere. The moisture holding capacity of the atmosphere increases, as a result of which extreme rainfall is experienced. The recent trends show that light and moderate rainfall has decreased and heavy rainfall has increased. 

This extreme weather leads to an increase in floods, rainstorm, thunderstorm and lightning. A rise in the intensity of cyclones from the Arabian Sea has also been reported. The current projection by IMD is frequent and intense weather events. According to the weather bureau chief, the probability of experiencing heavy rainfall has increased. 

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had also expressed his concern over the issue of climate change recently. On 25th July 2021, he called for the leadership of G20 to address the issue of climate change.  Climate Change and extreme weather conditions are a raging concern for the world right now and also predicted to be in the future.


Advertisements and Body Image

Advertisements have the power to shape the belief of a person and convince them into buying a particular product. But often these advertisement campaigns, especially the ones related to beauty products, promote an unrealistic body image which affects the consumer’s state of mind. They glorify and emphasize the importance of physical appearance and set certain standards of beauty. 

 This can affect not only the mind but also the social and emotional state of a person. It can lead to low self esteem issues and impact their overall well-being. Youngsters and teenagers are the most vulnerable to this negative impact of advertisements. They idealize the body image shown in the advertisements and end up with body dissatisfaction or taking drastic measures in order to change the body. 

The issue of Body Image

Body image refers to one’s perception about one’s size and shape of body. Body dissatisfaction is experienced when the person feels that they do not fit into the perception of body image. This can lead to unhealthy habits like chronic dieting . 

Nationwide Surveys conducted in the USA during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,  indicated that both men’s and women’s body image perceptions were becoming more and more negative with the growth of print and television advertisements. 

When it comes to beauty products or fashion related content, the models are always shown to be extremely thin. This stereotypical standard of beauty leads to body related anxiety issues and eating disorders among women. Likewise, Men are always stereotyped to have a physically strong, lean, and muscular body. 


Similarly racist attitudes are also promoted by many fairness product’s advertisements. Fairness creams, powders, etc. showcase fair skin as the standard of beauty. This issue of fairness creams was widely questioned and criticized recently, especially on social media.

 

Some advertisements set unattainable goals for the consumer. For instance the unrealistic standards are set like a totally spotless and ever-glowing face, or always having silky smooth hair. These notions of beauty are far from reality, they are unlike the people that we see in our everyday life. Trendy clothes, perfectly smooth skin,etc. is glamorized to the extent that people consider it to be the “perfect body”. 

However, due to recent debates around the issue of body image being shaped by advertisements, some advertisements have started promoting body positivity. More advertisement campaigns that promote body positivity and inclusivity are required for normalization and acceptance of the non-stereotypical body images in society.


The Noises of Modern World

 While everyone is concerned about environmental issues like air pollution and deforestation, there is another issue that has arised in our modern civilization- Noise Pollution. The sound of machines during construction and most importantly the honking in traffic are all contributors of noise pollution. These loud noises have become a part of our daily life. 

Noise pollution is an undesirable sound which generates discomfort to the ears and interferes with our peace of mind. The urban population is the most affected because vehicles contribute the most to noise pollution. WHO describes it as the most hazardous pollution after air and water, and has also listed some of its impacts on health. Not only humans, it also affects the wildlife of land as well as the water bodies. 


Impact on health

Noise pollution has many negative implications on our health. Exposure to noise pollution can cause psychiatric disorders,  anxiety, hypertension, stress, hormonal dysfunction, nausea, changes in mood and makes the person argumentative. Its effect on health also depends on the duration of exposure. 

Extremely disturbing sounds created by the machines disrupt the peace of mind of the person. It can also affect the ear and in adverse conditions may also lead to hearing impairment. In a few cases, exposure to noise can also lead to cardiovascular diseases. 

Sleep disturbance is a major problem associated with noise pollution. Chronic disturbance in sleep such as difficulty in sleeping, frequent awakening, waking up too early etc.can impact the overall well being of a person. 

Not only health, but also our social behaviour gets impacted by it. It can lead to negative social behaviour because noise builds stress and annoyance. It impacts and changes our everyday behavior and causes aggressiveness and unfriendly behaviour. 

Ways to reduce noise pollution

First step is to stop honking unnecessarily on the road. Most of the noise pollution is caused by honking in the traffic. Avoid playing Radio or Television at an extremely high volume as it can cause noise pollution inside the house as well as in the nearby areas. Try to use appliances with a low noise and turn it off when not in use. 

Planting trees can help to reduce noise because they act as a natural barrier to sound. Some trees have the quality of absorbing sound from the surrounding. A study by the US Department of Energy Study report states that trees can cut the noise levels by 50%. Not only noise, the trees can help to curb other forms of pollution also. 

In the wake of modernization, we have replaced the positive sound of birds and trees swaying in the breeze with a loud morning alarm and honking in the traffic. Some minor steps can help us to reduce the noise around us and restore peace of mind.


Pandemic's impact on Education

 The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the lifestyle of everyone completely. Laptop and Smartphone screens have replaced the chalk and blackboard of the classrooms since the announcement of lockdown in March 2020. This transition from offline to online learning was not a simple task for the students as well as the teachers. 

Online Classes: The new way of education 

Initially the task was to learn to use the online medium for education purposes. Some teachers and students faced certain difficulties in handling technology. It also increased the responsibility of the parents especially in the case of small children who could not handle online classes without guidance of their parents. As this new way of learning was being freshly introduced, some batches of students faced a delay in their academic year. This led to a lot of confusion regarding cancellation or postponement of exams. It is also extremely difficult for students to understand the practical concepts which require a lab. 

One of the major problems of online learning is Digital Divide. Every student does not have access to the digital world, which disrupts their learning process. According to a survey by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in the schools of India, 27% students don’t have access to smartphones, laptops or computers. In many remote areas, proper internet connectivity is also not available to attend the classes. 

Due to the worsening financial conditions like unemployment and low income in households, the dropout rates of school students are increasing, especially among girls. Many leave their education to support the family financially. A number of professors and teachers have expressed their concern over this issue and the main fear is that they may never rejoin school after the pandemic. 

The Mid-Day Meal scheme in the government schools was one of the important ways for the students to get nutritious food, especially for the students from the low income families. Mid day meal provision also led to an increase in the enrolment of students in schools. Due to lack of physical access to schools they are facing a loss of nutrition. 

Long exposure to screens has impacted their vision and mental health. It has increased the problems like headache and stress. Lack of face-to-face doubt clearance leaves the students confused. It has also impacted the student’s daily routine where they were physically active. According to UNICEF’s data released in March 2021, 888 million children worldwide, including 247 million in India, continue to face difficulty in learning due to closure of schools. 

But every cloud has a silver lining, and online classes too have their own benefits. It has opened up new ways of digital learning that connects people globally through webinars, online certification courses, etc. The number of webinars conducted for students in schools and colleges has increased over the last year. Initiatives such as educational programmes on television and radio were promoted to help the children learn in an easy manner. 

However, the problems faced by those who cannot access digital learning needs to be addressed. Initiatives that can help them to cope up with this loss of education needs to be promoted. Education is an integral part of development which should not be compromised.


Brain Drain from the developing nations

With millions of people shifting from developing to developed nations in the past few decades in search of better opportunities, “Brain Drain” has become a serious issue. It is also known as “Human Capital Flight”. It is defined as a phenomenon when highly qualified and skilled individuals move to other countries for better jobs or educational opportunities. 

As a result of this migration of the people, the developed countries gain human capital known as “Brain Gain”. Human capital plays a crucial role in the economic development of any country. This benefits the already developed nations while the developing nations end up losing their skilled workforce. 

A huge number of Indians migrate to other nations every year. Research by the World Bank shows that more than 3% people worldwide reside in different countries rather than in the country of their birth. 

Students especially from the field of science, technology and research move to countries like the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia etc. Between 2003 and 2013, the US saw a drastic rise in the number of immigrant scientists and engineers from 21.6 million to 29 million according to the National Centre for Science and Engineering Statistics. (NCSES)

Causes of Brain Drain

Brain drain is caused due to a combination of the “pull factors” and the “push factors”. Developed nations have more pull factors and the developing nations having more push factors leads to brain drain. 

Push factors are the reason why people move out of their country. It includes underemployment or under-paid jobs. People move to other countries when they don’t get paid enough for their skillset. Another major factor is standard of living. People prefer to move out from countries which lack basic facilities like proper education, healthcare and pleasant working conditions.


Lack of research opportunities in the developing nations are another reason that makes people move to another country for higher studies. Disaster prone areas and lack of safety can also be a push factor to move to another country. The push factors not only cause brain drain but also indicate the inadequacy of proper facilities in the native country. 

Pull factors are the factors that attract an immigrant to the destination. These are the exact opposites to the push factors. This includes better employment or educational opportunities, political rights, pleasant working conditions etc. These factors make the immigrants stay back and they often turn into permanent residents of the country. 

It is extremely important to ensure properly funded research laboratories for higher studies, better salary for skilled occupations and a good working environment.

The solution to brain drain is to develop the overall standard of living in order to utilise the human capital of the country efficiently. 


Nomophobia: A growing fear in the modern world

 The pandemic has limited our movement and contact with the real world. Smartphones are connecting us with the world right now. There was a drastic increase in the number of hours spent on the phone after the first lockdown in March 2020.  Phone is our source of information, entertainment, socializing virtually and even attending classes. From work to leisure activity, everything is done on our phone. Our daily routine revolves around technology in this “new normal”. We all find it extremely difficult to be detached from our phone these days. 

What is Nomophobia?

People have become so used to the habit of checking their phone constantly that they find it hard to keep their phone aside. Not being able to check the notifications on the phone immediately makes them anxious and builds up stress. We struggle to spend a minute without checking the social media updates. 

Nomophobia refers to the fear, discomfort, or anxiety of being out of contact with the mobile phone. In simpler words it means “No mobile phone phobia”. This fear is normal. But when the fear is severe and continuous, it can be problematic. It can affect our day-to-day behaviour and action. Young adults are the most vulnerable group affected by smartphone addiction. 

The term was coined during a UK based research which aimed to study the possibility of anxiety disorders due to excessive use of mobile phones in 2008. The main cause of their phobia was the fear of losing connectivity with their near and dear ones. 

Nomophobia can impact our body physically and mentally. Physically, it can affect our eyesight, headache, disturbed sleep. A study by the International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science has established a relationship between Nomophobia and physical health. People who had the symptoms and felt anxious without the phone were experiencing headache, disturbance in sleeping and other such problems.

Its mental implications include lack of concentration, stress, irritation and anger. A research by the International Journal of Indian Psychology has found a positive correlation between Nomophobia and anger.   

Developing a “Stopping rule” to limit the hours spent using the phone, replacing some screen time with another hobby, and spending time on meditation are some of the preventive measures suggested in the studies. Some other suggestions include having a “no phone day” once in a week if possible and taking breaks frequently, especially for gamers. 

There is no doubt that a phone is a really useful device that can be used for a variety of purposes. But it is important to be aware of phone addiction because too much dependency on any device has its own consequences . 


Domestic violence during the pandemic

 Domestic violence during the Covid pandemic is a major concern which indicates the negative psychological and social impact of the pandemic on our society. Countries all over the globe, have reported alarmingly high number of cases of violence faced in the households.  

Domestic violence

It refers to any sort of physical, sexual or emotional violence by a partner or any other family member. Women are the primary victims of this sort of violence. It is a crime according to section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The Government of India had passed the ‘Protection of women from domestic violence act’ in 2005. 

Impact of the pandemic

Cases of violence have increased with the rise of Covid-19 pandemic. The National Commission for Women(NCW) received 13,410 complaints of crime against women between March- September, 2020. Out of the complaints received, 4350 were about the problem of domestic violence. Not only in India, but a rise in cases were seen globally. According to a report by the UN in 2020, 243 million women and girls were subjected to domestic violence worldwide.


A drastic rise in cases were seen, even when many of the cases go unreported due to the social stigma attached to it. Research shows that violence tends to increase in conditions of any crisis or disaster. A similar rise in cases of violence in households was seen during the Ebola outbreak between 2014-2020. 

Causes of increase in violence

The pandemic has led to quarantine in many of the countries, it has completely changed the day to day lifestyle of the people. The pandemic has restricted the movement and confined people to their house. It has also economically impacted people with a rise in unemployment and other losses. This has contributed to psychological distress among the people.


Unfortunately the stress, anger and frustration has culminated into violence in some households. There is also a lack of social support or protective network for the victim because of isolation inside the house. Many find it difficult to access timely help or intervention in these situations. 

Solutions

The first and foremost step is to make people aware about it and give them proper knowledge to access help. Most of the survivors have limited information about seeking justice against violence. Many of them hesitate to speak up or register a complaint. Under-reporting of cases is a major problem. Surveys show that only 7% of the victims reach out for help. In such conditions legitimate information and awareness plays a crucial role in raising voice against the crime. Building an easily accessible community support system for the victims and giving them psycho-social support is another important step. 

Various social media campaigns have helped to make support accessible in the times of Covid-19. Often youngsters have actively involved themselves in such awareness campaigns. Recently, NCW had launched a Whatsapp based helpline to ease the process during the pandemic. Some state governments had also started different initiatives like tele-counselling programmes for women. The UN had also launched the ‘Shadow pandemic public awareness campaign’ to raise awareness about the increasing violence. 

Domestic violence is a social evil which needs to be eradicated for the betterment of our society. 


WATER CONSERVATION

 CONSERVE WATER CONSERVE LIFE


Water conservation is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage. Acc. to Fresh Water Watch, water conservation is important because fresh clean water is a limited resources, as well as costly one.

Major Purpose of Conservation-   

Conservation is the care and protection of these resources so that they can persist for future generations. it includes maintaining diversity of species, genes and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment, such as nutrient cycling.

Why it’s important to Conserve Water-


Since 71% of the earth is covered in water, some people can’t help but wonder: Why should we conserve?
Here are a few important facts about water on this planet from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation:-
  • 97% of all of water on the earth is salt water, which is not suitable for drinking.
  • Only 3% of water on earth is fresh water and only 0.5% is available for drinking.
  • The other 2.5% of fresh water is locked in ice caps, glaciers, the atmosphere, soil or polluted for consumption.
  1. Water is essential to all life. Not only does it keep us and the animals and plants around us alive, but it also provide special habitats for wildlife.
  2. Conserving water can save your money. The less water you use, the less you may be charged by you water company.
  3. Conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat & pump water to your homes. So, reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprints.
  4. It minimize the effect of draught.

Ways to Conserve Water-

  • At homes- 

  1. Always turn tap off tightly so they do not drip.
  2. Promptly repair any leaks in and around your tap.
  3. When brushing your teeth, turn the water off while you are actually brushing. use short bursts of water for cleaning your brush. ( this saves about 80% of the water normally used.
  4. When hand washing dishes, never run water continuously.
  5. Take short showers.
  • At gardens-
  1. Avoid watering the lawn on windy days. There is excessive evaporation. This can waste up to 300 gallons in a single watering.
  2. Do not water in the rain. Change or deactivate automatic sprinkles.
  3. Using a pail of soapy water, clean the car and make sure to drive it onto a lawn.
  4. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants. It low down evaporation.

  • Outside the home-

  1. Turn off the faucet after using public washroom facilities.
  2. Do not use a hose to clean your sidewalks, patio or driveway. Use a broom or rake for cleaning and save hundred of gallons of water.
  3. Check your pool system is shut off valve. If the water level stays higher than normal and it overflows when people are using it, call your problem.
  4. Cover your pool or spa to reduce evaporation.
  5. Avoid purchasing recreational water toys that require a constant stream of water.

Strategies to support Water Conservation-


1.Rainwater Harvesting: Install a rain barrel to collect rain water, and use it water your lawn and garden or wash your car.

-Rooftop rainwater harvesting

-Revival of traditional water harvesting structures

-Recharge structures of wells and borewells

-Micro catchment water harvesting

2.Sustainable Water Usage: 

-Minimize domestic water consumption

-Recycling of waste water.

3.Encourage natural regeneration of vegetation & supplementing with artificial regeneration.

4.Maintain & improve the quality of water.

5.Raising awareness of water conservation.



“LIFE IS DEPENDENT ON WATER AND SAVING WATER IS DEPENDENT ON YOU”