Jaipur does its bit to fight water crisis

No pool parties, recycling drinking water and nukkad natak: In a bid to save water, organisers have done away with pool and rain dance parties in Jaipur. And apart from mopping the floors dry, hotels have also begun recycling drinking water.
The IPL Governing Council’s decision to not hold IPL matches in Jaipur, citing logistical issues in the drought-hit state, tells us a lot about Rajasthan’s deepening water crisis.At this time then, should Jaipur continue organising pool and rain dance parties was the question being debated recently. It was then that the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) decided to restrict water supply and its usage for “swimming pools, water parks and aquatic games and entertainment in state,” including “lavish rituals of rain dance parties organised at hotels and water parks.” Turns out that even before this ban, event organisers and hotels in the city had already canned their plans of hosting such parties.
Jaideep Singh Sandhu, director of J&B Events, says, “Due to the water crisis, we have cancelled our pool party plans for a month. We won’t have any rain dance party either. We had stalled our plans much before the PHED ban.”
The city’s social clubs too have decided not to hold any rain dance parties. Sanjay Bhansali, vice president of Jai Club, says, “We have one pool in our club for the members. Water is changed once every two months and instead of draining it, we use it for watering the plants in the club’s garden area. To avoid any wastage of water, we will not be having any rain dance parties for sure.”
Not everyone, however, is in favour of banning pool parties. Vinay Adhikari, director of Tapas Events, says, “Water crisis is a big issue, but banning pool parties is no solution. Water in the pool is not changed on a daily basis. Every swimming pool has filtration plants and a system to purify water, in which not a drop is wasted. Banning rain dance parties, however, is logical. But not pool parties.”
Floors of hotels to be mopped dry
Hotels and eateries in the city too are doing their bit to conserve water. Ashish Vyas, general manager of Four Points By Sheraton, says, “We have invested in rainwater harvesting in our hotel. We are also requesting guests to use less water. We also keep the swimming pool covered when not in use to reduce evaporation. Considering the water scarcity in Rajasthan, we’ve also started using dry mops. We only use wet mop once a day and dry mop the floors the rest of the time.”
Leftover drinking water fed to plants
One of the major ways that water is wasted at restaurants and hotels is when guests order a glass of water but don’t drink it completely. The media spokesperson of The Lalit tells us, “Instead of throwing away the leftover water, we recycle it by watering the plants. We’ve also instructed our team to tighten the faucets every time they use it so that water isn’t wasted.”
Subhash Ghosh, senior food and beverage manager at The Terrace Grill rooftop restaurant at Park Prime hotel, says that they insist customers on buying mineral water instead of regular water. “Customers only take a sip or two from their glass of water and waste the rest. Hence, we insist customers to buy water bottles instead of going for regular water. That way they will not think of wasting water as it’s not free. India mein logon ko free ki cheez ki kadar nahi hai,” he says, adding. “Apart from dry mops, we have been using energy-efficient dishwashers at the restaurant.”
Street plays to spread awareness
City-based theatre artiste Himanshu Jhankal is planning to stage a nukkad natak across the city to spread awareness about water shortage and measures to save water. “Our nukkad natak Jal Hi Jeevan Hai will be staged across the city and it will not only educate people about the importance of saving water, but will also make people aware about how useful water harvesting is,” he says. “The issue has to be tackled at the grassroot level, so it is important that we cover as many areas as we can,” he adds.
Spreading the word, and pamphlets to raise awareness
Officials at the Panaroma Housing Society in Jagatpura say that they haven’t had to change the water in their swimming pool for a year, thanks to filtration plant. “The water can be recycled as many times as you want. We are aware of the water crisis, and so we are not refilling the water in the pool,” says Dhirendra Madaan, president of the society and chairman of Mahima Group. He adds, “We have been distributing pamphlets and have made standees hold placards about water conservation. We also organised a seminar where the residents were told on how to use water intelligently, like using bucket instead of shower, not leaving the tap open while brushing their teeth, etc.”
ARG Puram, another housing society located at Agra Road, too has been issuing circulars and pamphlets to residents. Vijay Arya, project coordinator and CRM of ARG group, says, “At a time when there is a water scarcity, it is important that we all act as responsible citizens and do our bit. I am happy that the people staying in the society are contributing towards doing that.”
My Haveli, another housing society by Unique Builders in Jaipur, is spreading awareness about the benefits of using STP (Sewage Treatment Plant). “Due to water shortage, we have been trying to save water in every possible way. We have installed our STP plant at the society and there is a dedicated team to take care of its maintenance and operations,” says Vibhishekh Singh, managing director of Unique Builders.
HOW JAIPUR WILL COMBAT WATER SCARCITY
No pool and rain dance parties
Hotel floors to be dry-mopped
Leftover drinking water in restaurants to be fed to plants
Street plays on water conservation to be held across the city
Housing societies to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STP)