A Pledge Towards A Water-Positive Country!

Mr. Arora is the National President of the Indian Plumbing Association. He also looks after the Indian Green Building Council which is the subsidiary of the CII. He is the national Vice Chairman and one of the Board of Directors of Indian Plumbing Skill Council.

Plumbing industry is a very complex industry. It is the only industry that deals with all the income group or strata. Plumbing industry plays a key role in maintaining the level of usage of water and energy. A good plumbing is responsible for conserving water. As per the study, 70% of communicable diseases are spread through bad quality of water. Diarrhea kills 3,000 children every day worldwide. As a responsible citizen, one must make sure that the fresh water be supplied, is clean, portable and without disease. It can cause vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Therefore, the plumbing industry considers it as their responsibility to serve the people and take care of the environment. Conserving water has always been the major concern or priority of people working for the plumbing industry. Water is a limited resource and only less than 1% of the water is usable. The lesser the usage of water, the more the energy is conserved. To ensure the balance between plumbing efficiency and environment protection, Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) was set up. Let’s know about IPA from Mr. Arora.

Vision of the association

Mr. Arora says that one of his major visions is to try to educate as many young minds as possible about how the plumbing industry works considering the importance of environment protection. IPA is a very passionate team that works meticulously to implement the vision of the association. Recently, they have also been working in building girl’s washroom facilities in various schools. They have associated with the rotary club of Mumbai, WIMs, to make people aware of the practice of handwash amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Being chucklesome, Mr. Arora says that IPA is 27 years young! Their ultimate aim is to make sure that our country is water positive.

The activities of the association

IPA is a very responsible and highly recognized organisation with 4,700 members and 23 city chapters. The organisation takes care of adequate water supply, saving water and at the same time ensuring the quick plumbing installations. Mr. Arora also shared that IPA participates in various programs like, I SAVE WATER MISSION where in 2019 they had a target to save 133 crore litres of water. They have installed low-flow fixtures and low-flow sanitary wares and low-flow dishwashers that would save up to 30-35% of the water on a cumulative range. Their target for this year is 500 crore litres of water. Mr. Arora mentions that this target will keep increasing as the year passes on. Secondly, he talks about JEEVIT JAL PROGRAM that is giving life back to water. Considering the scenario of Bangalore, he says that there were 299 tanks but at present there is unscrupulous construction happening there. “Now the condition of Bangalore has worsened, if it rains two hours it starts flooding because there is no way for the excess water to flow elsewhere. We need revival of our water bodies, hence we need to motivate the local community with the sense of responsibility to look after water bodies in their area.” So, to achieve this motto Jeevit Jal Program was put into action.

While talking about water usage by people and saving water, he urges that, “We are not relying on government we should understand that they cannot do all your works. We, as citizens, should make sure that we are responsible and ensure that in our homes we use the least amount of water. You need to practice small things like wash your car with the bucket of water, try a bucket bath. When you wash your lentils, the water can be used for plants. Try to reuse all the water.”

Challenges faced by the association One of the biggest challenges they are facing is the cash-flow problem. Mr. Arora mentions that plumbing industry is highly dependent on construction industry. Now, due to the retraction in construction business, it is affecting the plumbing consultancy. During such situations, it becomes difficult to abide by the uniform illustrated plumbing code of India 2017 version.

One key message to the world

He urges, “Water should be taken care of. Respect the water bodies and protect them. You will produce energy through renewable sources. Water is as close to as is the almighty. Preserve it, conserve it, reuse and recycle it.”