‘Water Bowl Project’ for strays this summer

‘Water Bowl Project’ for strays this summer
Are your thirst levels soaring this summer? Well, spare a thought for the strays you see on the roads.
Two Bengalureans -- BPO employee Sunil O M and animal lover Sanjana Govindan Jayadev -- have decided to do their bit to quench the thirst of these animals. The two started the ‘Water Bowl Project’.
Sunil was inspired by an animal welfare organization to start the Water Bowl Project – which is simply about keeping a clean drinking bowl out for the strays.
After speaking to various potters, he finally met Waseeq Khan, who sold his wares near the Bangalore University. Khan –an animal lover himself, agreed to make drinking bowls at a subsidized rate of Rs 50 for Sunil’s cause.
Sunil commutes daily from Bangalore University to Mahadevapura. On his way, he distributes pots to eager animal-lovers. Sunil says, “Random people on the road come up and ask me how they can help. People in Bengaluru are concerned about animals but just need a direction.” The water bowls need to be filled twice a day and cleaned at least once in two days. Sunil, 30, has reached out to Bangalore University, Nagarbhavi, Vijaynagar and adjoining neighbourhoods. Together, he and Jayadev have distributed over 1500 pots in all.
Jayadev, also an animal lover, works with AIFO - an NGO. She distributes terracotta pots that are both environment-friendly and sustainable.
Jayadev says, “There are two problems with cement pots - water gets heated fast and when these pots break, their disposal is difficult. Terracotta pots, on the other hand, keep water cooler. If these break, one just needs to powder them and put them back into the soil since terracotta is natural clay and there is usually no added chemical.”
Jayadev, 28, feels that the water bowl project teaches people a lot of things like being sensitive to animals and how water needs to be conserved. Jayadev, who aims at distributing another 1000 pots in the next few weeks says, “The best response we get for this project is from children. This helps us believe they will grow up to be sensitive towards animals.”
The project has been active for the last two years and the duo learnt their lessons along the way. They initially learnt how squirrels and birds were not able to reach the water easily and would often trip into the bowls. There were complains about the water getting dirty thanks to cows. The pots were re-designed many times. The duo then learnt about pot stealers. From this year on, the duo has started handing out quick dry cement that can be used to fix the pots.
“We question people before we actually hand out the bowls. For areas with acute water shortage, five litres of water is not affordable and many do not have the time to clean. We do not aim at spreading or distributing more bowls but aim at making sure clean water is filled in each bowl,” says Jayadev. So, did you remember to place that water bowl out in your balcony, today?