Respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends,
Today, on ‘Water Literacy Day’, I want to speak about the liquid without which there would be no life on this earth — water. Our elders say, “Save water, save life,” and it is literally true : a man can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without water.
Yet we waste water as though it were endless. A leaking tap in a school can waste thousands of litres in a month, and a long shower uses as much water as a whole family needs for a day. Water management begins with small habits — closing taps, getting leaks repaired, washing vegetables in a bowl instead of under a running tap and using the water left over to water the plants.
Rain water harvesting is the next step. If every school and every house collects the rain that falls on its roof, our wells and borewells will be refilled and the water that now floods the streets will be saved for the summer.
We must also remember how water is used. Domestic, agricultural and industrial use all draw on the same supply, and with a growing population the demand rises every year. Farmers can adopt drip irrigation, and factories can treat and reuse their water instead of pouring waste into our rivers.
Finally, water and the ecosystem are one. When a river is polluted or a lake is filled up, the fish, the birds, the plants and the farmers who depend on it all suffer.
So let us take a pledge today : not a drop wasted, not a drop polluted. Save water, and you save life itself.
Thank you.
