Bangalore:
At a time when the city of Bangalore is reeling under acute water crisis, more than 150 volunteers of the Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore, along with founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led a walkathon with posters on how to save water.
Starting from the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium, participants which included a large number of passers-by and onlookers too walked through the beautiful Cubbon Park, through KR Circle to finally reach Freedom Park, 3 kilometres away.
"Water is such a scarce thing now and we must do all we can to judiciously use it. Our volunteers are trying to prevent one of the small rivers, the Kumudvathi in Bangalore from drying up. They are planting trees in the area which can help prevent soil erosion, building boulder checks. Anything which can help rejuvenate and revive our natural resources must be done, today and now," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told NDTV.
Among the participants was Hanumanthaiya, a senior citizen from Madikeri. He said he ensures all valves and taps in his home are checked once every six months to make sure there is no leakage. "We as citizens need to be aware of the importance of water, we cannot waste water."
Ravishankar, another participant in the walkathon and a young techie said " I got people to stop organizing the rain dance during Holi, I am sure that helped save as much water."
The water levels in the KRS dam, the main source of drinking water for Bangalore is currently at 64.5 feet. That is 4 feet above dead storage level. The drought of 2012 in Karnataka was the worst in 40 years according to experts. The South west monsoon has officially arrived in Kerala, Karnataka and many parts of Maharashtra.