Students are also propagating their message at a couple of temples to convince devotees to save water during the mega festival on Tuesday
A group of students from schools in the city have devised a model to save water used for abhishek during Shivratri. The move comes at a time when the state government has warned of a water crisis this summer.
Students are also propagating their message at a couple of temples to convince devotees to save water during the mega festival on Tuesday.
The team, which calls it Water Rangers, comprises Aarush Patwari, Ayaan Patel, Jannat Chiripal, Kahaan Agrawal, Kavish Gathani, Rahil Savla, Shanay Munshi, Shiv Brahmbhatt and Virika Nanda. They are a part of The Robotronics Club in the city that recently won regional Championship trophy at First Lego League in Gujarat.
The team is now participating in the National Championship at Chennai. As a part of the competition, they are required to prepare a model on saving water.
Their model is similar to that of an ATM, where devotees can insert coins, and water in a fixed quantity will be released for the abhishek. This results in saving about 80% water per abhishek. The drained water will be recycled in a tank to be reused for the abhishek.
"While religious sentiments should be respected, preserving nature is at least equally important. Saving water is critical for the society at large," said Arush Patwari, a Class 5 student of Ahmedabad International School. Shiv Brahmbhatt, a class 4 student of Riverside School said, "For devotees willing to offer milk abhishek, we request them to offer milk in a barrel, which will be sent to the poor. There is also an option to filter the the milk."
"We studied how much water is being wasted at the temples. We know that it is a religious matter but request devotees to save water," said Shanay Munshi, a Class-5 student at Udgam School. Virika Nanda, a Class-4 student of Ahmedabad International School said, "Gujarat government has already declared scarcity of water and we want to help them save water."
The initiative is getting traction among religious leaders as well. "It is important that people understand the message. We need to create awareness," said Kamlesh Shastri, a priest at Shivanand Ashram, where the students had canvassed for saving water.
WATER RANGERS
The team comprises Aarush Patwari, Ayaan Patel, Jannat Chiripal, Kahaan Agrawal, Kavish Gathani, Rahil Savla, Shanay Munshi, Shiv Brahmbhatt and Virika Nanda.
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