BENGALURU: As an environmentally-conscious millennial, Garvita Gulhati (20) often spent her spare time going from restaurant to restaurant in pursuit of her initiative, Glass Half Full. In the pre-pandemic era, this was her attempt to encourage restaurants and customers to save drinking water. This was a part of her larger initiative, ‘Why Waste?’. Now, Gulhati, an electronics and communications engineering student at PES University, has received the Diana Award, which recognises a young person for social action or humanitarian efforts. The award, established in memory of the late princess of Wales, is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, William and Harry.
Gulhati’s initiative #GlassHalfFull, which she started at the age of 15, has borne fruit with many restaurants adopting the campaign, and even the National Restaurant Association of India, which represents over 5,00,000 restaurants, extending its support. “I have been brought up in Bengaluru, where water is a precious and increasingly scarce resource. I have been attempting to create awareness about water conservation among individuals and institutions for five years,” says Gulhati who received the award in a virtual ceremony.
A few years ago, Gulhati started noticing news articles on droughts and water-related issues across the country, and it struck her that 14 million litres of water was being wasted every year, simply because customers at restaurants leave behind half-empty glasses. “I started researching on how we waste water without realising it and decided to teach people water management,” she says. This led her to form a youth-led organisation, as well as launch the ‘How to Save 100 Litres Every Day’ app.
Even during the pandemic, Gulhati has been working on various activities with young children, trying to help them become water warriors. “At the same time, I have has also started an initiative called Hope Schooling, to engage with youngsters about climate and environment issues, and the harsh reality of what is happening despite nature healing during the lockdown. We have also distributed a free book of sustainability stories to help underprivileged students understand the climate crisis,” says Gulhati, who, in the past, has been recognised as a Global Ashoka Young Changemaker by Ashoka Innovators for the Public Bangalore.
The award is heartening, she says, as this will encourage young people who are trying to make a positive impact. “This is a recognition of the efforts of my entire team and this reinforces the belief that our efforts matter and together we can change the world,” she says.