While the civic body had decided to continue the 15 per cent water cut in Mumbai till the lake levels rise to normal, students from Mumbai University have planned to launch an awareness campaign to conserve water within the Kalina campus.

 

Members of Mumbai University Students’ Union (MUSU) will first focus on water that gets wasted every day because of leaking taps and pipes as well as due to overflowing tanks and old flush systems in the campus.

 

“We know that Mumbai is facing water cut due to a dry spell, which in turn has led to low water levels in the lakes. We believe that our university should be a role model in conserving water by preventing its wastage,” said Shoaib Qureshi, member of MUSU.

 

MUSU has also dashed off a letter to Dr Vijay Khole, vice chancellor, asking him to order the maintenance and administration department to tend to all leaking taps and overflowing tanks.

 

When contacted, Dr Khole told DNA that he had not received the letter yet. “However, keeping in mind the water shortage in the city, appropriate consideration will be given to the demand made by the students. It’s after all to save water.”

 

Students also suggested that the university should avoid using drinking water for gardening and washing purposes. “There are 70 departments and each floor has a water cooler and toilets. A considerable amount of water gets wasted even in the laboratories. We don’t need to use the drinking water supplied by BMC when there are other alternatives,” said Suyog Marathe, researcher.

 

In its letter, MUSU has proposed the installation of bore wells within the university campus. “The geography department can conduct a feasibility test to find out the quality and quantity of ground water as well as check the nature of the soil,” said Marathe.

 

URL: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=5&boxid=30762030&parentid=70442&eddate=07/23/2008