CHENNAI: On June 26, the Jodi365 office in Saidapet closed operations for the day due to lack of water. According to founder and CEO Anil Kumar, the office ran out of water and electricity by the afternoon, and all 18 employees were sent home for the day.“I had a responsibility to look out for my team, and I could not force them to work in an inhospitable environment. To stand against our competitors, we needed to be as efficient as possible, and we could not do so due to lack of water and electricity,” says Kumar. This experience motivated him to organise a mixer in the city called Shaken and Stirred: A Mixer in a City Without Water.
The event, which will have a talk on water conservation by environmentalist Arun Krishnamoorthy, will be held at Pumpkin Tales, Alwarpet, today. But what differentiates this event from others is the fact that no water will be served at the event.“The event will have food and beverages, but no water. Our users come from privileged backgrounds, and this is in solidarity with those who had to pay `50 out of their daily wages of `200 on something as essential as water,” says Kumar.
According to Krishnamoorthy, water literacy at an individual level is crucial for society to come up with effective water solutions. “Water literacy is critically important because without knowing anything about water, how does one conserve it? Therefore, I will be talking about the water cognisance that each of us should have, the level of water participation we should engage in, and what as a city we can achieve in terms of conservation,” he says.
He will talk about water responsibility at an individual level, ranging from water conservation to environmentally-sound water practices and more. Krishnamoorthy explains that rainwater harvesting, water recycling at a domestic level and participation in community water conservation efforts are simple steps everyone can adopt to do their bit in saving water.‘Shaken and Stirred: A Mixer in a City Without Water’ will be held at Pumpkin Tales, Alwarpet, today at 4 pm. Entry fee is `899. For details, call 9345634365.