India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: On the occasion of World Water Day, Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. in association with Mumbai’s Dabbawala undertook an initiative to spread the message of ‘Saving Water’. As part of the initiative, Mumbai Dabbawalas executed a flashmob at Churchgate railway station highlighting the importance of water conservation.
Bisleri and Mumbai Dabbawalas also recently shared Bisleri bottles containing eco-friendly dry colours with people to spread awareness on playing dry Holi. These bottles were delivered with the tiffin boxes by the Dabbawalas across Mumbai. Bisleri representatives also gathered at different toll nakas in Mumbai to give away colours promoting waterless Holi.
Parag Bengali, Director, Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. said, “Water is a precious resource and everyone should understand the importance of it and as a responsible citizen, make a conscious effort to save it in their everyday life. On the occasion of Wold Water Day, we are taking an initiative to spread this social message by associating with Mumbai Dabbawalas.”
For years, Bisleri has been on a mission to ensure that every Indian gets access to pure and safe drinking water. The brand that pioneered the concept of mineral water in India, Bisleri also focuses on sustainable growth. Which is why, through all its endeavours, Bisleri is trying to give more back to Nature and make our environment a better place to live. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, known as Our Social Responsibility at Bisleri, it has undertaken several initiatives like Rain water harvesting through Check Dams and Roof Top Harvesting.
Bisleri’s water conservation project (Project Nayi Ummeed)
India receives ample monsoon rainfall, however, 95% of this rain water is lost through run-off into the sea. With hardly 5% of the available rainwater being put to use, the huge wastage of this precious resource is alarming. Our negligence in making effective use of rainwater has led to the declining level of ground water. Moreover, with unpredictable monsoons, lot of villages face water scarcity through the year which makes difficult to sustain even normal life.
Bisleri’s Project Nayi Ummeed aims to conserve rain water by building and restoring Check Dams. A check dam is a small size dam constructed across a swale, drainage ditch, or seasonal stream to conserve rain water. They store surface water for use both during and after the monsoon and also help in ground water recharge of the area. Recharge of water helps in raising the water table in the area. Availability of water ensures farming all year round and increase of agricultural yield by multi-cropping, thus, powering prosperity and growth.
Contrasting big dams, check dams have a faster implementation timeline, are cost effective, and are simpler to construct. Because of this, their implementation does not typically displace people or communities nor does it destroy natural resources.
Bisleri undertook the first Check Dam project in 2001 at Village Bara in Kutch, Gujarat. Since then, more than 50 Check Dams have been built or restored across Gujarat and Western & Central parts of Maharashtra. These check dams have covered more than 70 villages and benefited around 8,000 families. They have helped harvest more than 11,000 million litres of water, recharge a number of wells and helped irrigate more than 3,000 acres of land. As a result, per farmer average annual income through farming in some areas has gone up by around Rs 50,000 over the years.
