COIMBATORE: The adage “a stitch in time saves nine” is well-applied by several mosques in Coimbatore district in their efforts to improve the groundwater table and save themselves from water scarcity. Of the 135 mosques in the district, 20 ensure that water used for ablution (wuzu) by devotees before prayer is diverted to the ground to recharge the water table.
Explaining the initiative, A Shah Nawaz, president of Athar Jamath on Oppanakara Street in Coimbatore, said three borewells in the mosque went dry during 2016-17 when TN suffered a drought. With no other option, the century-old mosque depended on tankers, costing Rs 8,000 a day for water.
Then came the eureka moment when the management took the initiative to recharge an unused well by diverting the water used for wuzu. Nawaz said the borewells are recharged and now have water. M Abdul Hakkim, public relations secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hindu (Coimbatore city), said a rainwater harvesting structure was started in Ihshan mosque at Karumbukadai in 2014 with help from e-NGO Siruthuli.
“By spending around Rs 20,000, we established the structure in the mosque. As a result, the groundwater table in the locality rose significantly. When several mosques faced difficulty with water supply, we guided them on establishing similar structures to save several litres of water,” Hakkim explained.