Plugging leaks around your home, one tap at a time

Vanita and Krishna Kumta are conscientious about the usage of water. When the Mulund couple got to know about a campaign to conserve water initiated by a neighbourhood hospital, they knew what to do next. Vanita, 67, got in touch with a managing committee member suggesting every flat be checked and problems of water leakages solved.

On a Sunday in December, Mulund-based Fortis hospital that initiated the ‘Save Water, Save Life’ campaign visited the Royal Classic housing society and examined 78 flats for leaking taps in addition to creating awareness on water conservation. “Water shortage is a big problem, especially in rural areas where their needs are not met. While the situation in the city is slightly better, a lot of water is just going down the drain. Hence the need to conserve water,” said Vanita. “The leakage problem from the common tap used in our garden area was detected and fixed.

An analysis by think-tank Observer Research Foundation has estimated that Mumbai loses about 650 million litres of water every single day due to leaking.

It was through an initiative ‘Friends of Fortis’ mostly comprising senior citizens residing around the hospital that the idea of the campaign emerged. Spearheaded by 15 core members, the campaign that started with four housing societies in December has covered 50 buildings rectifying 85 leaking taps over eight Sundays free of cost. During the week, the campaign is taken to schools and colleges.

According to Fortis, fixing 85 leaking taps, through which about 1,00,000 litres of water would get wasted in one year, has meant saving approximately 12.5 lakh litres of water.

“Preserving natural resources today will help enrich our future.Through this initiative, we are one step closer,” said Dr S Narayani, facility director, Fortis Hospital. “We launched this initiative with an objective of bringing in greater efficiency, better planning and increased emphasis on conservation of water. We hope to engage with more such societies in the coming months.”

A housing society that wishes to get their taps and flush tanks tested must furnish an approval letter from the office bearers to Fortis staff. Following this, a hospital’s staff member along with their in-house plumber visits every house on a Sunday, changing washers or other items. For instance, about eight flush tanks in a Mulund society were fixed. In case of a major repair work, the cost estimation is provided leaving it to the flat owner to either use the hospital plumber or their usual plumber.

“Water scarcity is a problem, and will be an even bigger problem in the future if we don’t save it. There have to be conservation efforts so as to save water for future generations,” said Hemavati Ramani, resident of Akash Lok Rachna, Mulund, where minor plumbing repairs were carried out in some of the 60 flats.

Prashant Sakpal, assistant municipal commissioner, T-Ward Mulund, said, “We need to sustain such campaigns and citizens, like us, would be happy to propagate the importance of using water judiciously. These water conservation initiatives will help the generations to come.”

The campaign has started getting enquiries from other parts of the city. Their next stop – Sion, Chembur and Andheri.

Vanita and Krishna Kumta are conscientious about the use of water. When the Mulund couple got to know about a campaign to conserve water initiated by a neighbourhood hospital, they knew what to do next. Vanita, 67, got in touch with a managing committee member suggesting every flat in their building be checked and problems of water leakages solved.

On a Sunday in December, Mulund-based Fortis hospital that initiated the ‘Save Water, Save Life’ campaign, visited the Royal Classic Housing Society and examined 78 flats for leaking taps in addition to creating awareness on water conservation. “Water shortage is a big problem, especially in rural areas where their needs are not met. While the situation in the city is slightly better, a lot of water is just going down the drain. Hence the need to conserve water,” said Vanita. “The leakage problem from the common tap used in our garden area was detected and fixed.”

An analysis by think-tank Observer Research Foundation has estimated that Mumbai loses about 650 million litres of water every single day because of leaks. This is nearly equal to Mumbai’s daily shortfall of 550 million litres.

It was through an initiative ‘Friends of Fortis’ mostly comprising senior citizens residing around the hospital that the idea of the campaign emerged. Spearheaded by 15 core members, the campaign that started with four housing societies in December has covered 50 buildings rectifying 85 leaking taps over eight Sundays free of cost. During the week, the campaign is taken to schools and colleges.

“Preserving natural resources today will help enrich our future. Through this initiative, we are one step closer,” said Dr S Narayani, facility director, Fortis Hospital. “We launched this initiative with an objective of bringing in greater efficiency, better planning and increased emphasis on conservation of water. We hope to engage with more such societies in the coming months.”

A housing society that wishes to get their taps and flush tanks tested must furnish an approval letter from the office-bearers to Fortis staff. Following this, a hospital’s staff member along with their in-house plumber visits every house on a Sunday, changing washers or other items. For instance, about eight flush tanks in a Mulund society were fixed. In case of a major repair work, the cost estimation is provided leaving it to the flat owner to either use the hospital plumber or their usual plumber.

“Water scarcity is a problem, and will be an even bigger problem in the future if we don’t save it. There have to be conservation efforts so as to save water for future generations,” said Hemavati Ramani, resident of Akash Lok Rachna, Mulund, where minor plumbing repairs were carried out in some of the 60 flats.

Prashant Sakpal, assistant municipal commissioner, T-Ward Mulund, said, “We need to sustain such campaigns and citizens, like us, would be happy to propagate importance of using water judiciously. These water conservation initiatives will help generations to come.”

The campaign has started getting enquiries from other parts of the city. Their next stop – Sion, Chembur and Andheri.