As part of a joint campaign initiated by the Rotary Club of Delhi-Midtown and UNESCO New Delhi, one hundred thousand Delhi school children signed a pledge banner to save "60 million litres of water every year" for the city of Delhi on the fitting occasion of World Earth Day. The signatures were presented to the Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil as a declaration of their earnest resolve and commitment to save water and help lay the foundation of a water secure future at an event organized today.

As part of a joint campaign initiated by the Rotary Club of Delhi-Midtown and UNESCO New Delhi, One Hundred Thousand Delhi school children signed a pledge banner to save “60 million litres of water every year” for the city of Delhi on the fitting occasion of World Earth Day. The signatures were presented to the Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil as a declaration of their earnest resolve and commitment to save water and help lay the foundation of a water secure future at an event organized today.

This comes as the latest of a series of events planned to reach out to Delhi’s citizens through the campaign "Jal hai to kal hai- Save water, save life", a drive to create mass awareness on the urgent need to conserve water. The reason the signature campaign was set to be held on World Earth Day is because a pledge to save water is, after all, a pledge to save the planet.

Last November, the Rotary Club, in association with UNESCO and WWF, had organized a “Walk for Water” rally to alert children on the existing water crisis and on measures each of them could take to fight it. Delhi Public School, Apeejay, Springdales, Air Force School, Amity School and others actively participated, making it a highly successful event. Over 8,000 school children marched on Rajpath to plea action for water conservation, setting an example for the young and elderly alike.

On this occasion, UNESCO New Delhi Director Armoogum Parsuramen underlined that "popularizing information by targeting it to specific stakeholders, such as children, is an effective way of generating much-needed awareness and commitment."

In collaboration with TERI, UNESCO New Delhi has produced a toolkit on Changing Perspectives on Water Management consisting of a mini textbook; posters portraying the water cycle, and the benefits of rainwater harvesting; a board game; and other fun educative elements, which was later re-printed in large number with the support of Rotary Club. The kit was released as part of the campaign and widely distributed to the children in Delhi-NCR.

This February, inter-school competitions on dance and street play on the theme "Jal Hai To Kal Hai" were organized. Each of the 40 participating schools creatively displayed the devastating consequences the impending water crisis can have and suggested preventive measures that can be taken. During the audience with Madam President Rotary Club President Rtn. Singhvi captured the seriousness of the children’s message by reminding the audience that "the drying up of water resources would be the end of life on earth".

Hon. President Smt. Pratibha Patil appreciated the efforts of all those involved in the mass awareness-raising campaign and appealed to all citizens to back their concerns with actions by conserving ever-depleting water resources.

(Source:UNESCO New Delhi)