Page 527 - AWSAR 2.0

Water, The Elixir of Life or a Death Portion: Know Before It is too Late
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Ms. Sandhya Birla*
Email: sandhya.birla@civil.iitd.ac.in
Today is March 22nd, World Water Day, and Vivekananda Public School is getting ready for the annual exhibition. This year’s theme is “Groundwater: Save and
This is Shashi’s poster. She lives in a settlementclosetoalandfillinDelhiandgoes to a government school nearby. She has made this poster with a clean drawing of a well, a farm field, and a map of India. The poster wins her the third prize in the exhibition. A student of class IX, she is more aware of water conservation than most kids of her age and actively follows the practice to save water. She also teaches her family and neighbors various ways to save water. One day on her way back from school, she sees a popular water- filter brand sampling drinking water in the neighborhood for free. Shashi, being the water warrior, decides to get drinking water from her household hand pump tested, too. To her shock, she learns that the groundwater in their area is contaminated. Shashi understands
Conserve.” The poster at the entrance reads,
“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”
These lines from the famous poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98, are more relevant than ever in today’s age. As you make an entry into the exhibition further, another
“India, the largest consumer of groundwater: Groundwater supplies 85% of drinking water; Save water Save yourself”
poster reads
* Ms. Sandhya Birla, PhD Scholar from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, is pursuing her research on “Analytical Modeling as a Tool for Prediction of Contaminant Extent”. Her popular science story entitled “Water, the Elixir of Life or A Death Potion: Know Before it is Too Late” has been selected for AWSAR Award.