A million litres of water can be saved’…Indu Shahani Mumbai Sheriff
Ever since Indu Shahani took over as the sheriff of Mumbai two months ago, she has taken the job of being a responsible citizen more seriously than ever. Barely two months into her new role, Shahani has launched two drives that she believes will support the civic authorities while involving citizens for the betterment of the city. After the whistle-blowing campaign, in which her students make a noise against littering, Shahani tells Ashutosh Shukla the importance of plugging the city’s leaking water taps. Excerpts:
What is the idea behind the ‘Fix Leaking Taps’ campaign?
There is a criminal waste of clean water happening in the city. The problem is that most residents do not even take note of it, as it has become part of their lives, and they do not care. The ‘Fix Leaking Taps’ campaign will make them conscious about the wastage of water and motivate them to do something about it.
We are undertaking this campaign with the theme ‘Kuch Kariye’. We want people to come out of their houses and take charge of things they can do instead of cribbing and blaming the authorities all the time. Through this campaign, we think we can save a million litres of water per day.
Who came up with the idea for the campaign?
The idea is being promoted by me and Eureka Forbes. We came up with the concept after some people had e-mailed me about the water problems they face. Also, some of our students had done a survey on Mumbai’s water problems. After the launch of the campaign, we will work closely with Eureka Forbes and the plumbers’ association.
How soon can you achieve success in the campaign?
A campaign like this will take time to become popular. But we feel that maybe in a year’s time we will have good success. We will also have a helpline that people can call to get help from professional licensed plumbers, who will attend to complaints through call centres. The campaign, in an indirect way, will also create employment opportunities for people.