Sachin Tendulkar bats for clean water with Livpure

Livpure Foundation, the CSR arm of SAR group, on Thursday came together to announce an initiative to spread awareness on safe drinking water as water borne diseases are one on the biggest causes of mortality in India, especially among children under five. 

Under the initiative, ShuddhPaani, Swastha Bharat, the Foundation would map the water quality across different regions and help create a platform for all interested stakeholders to address the critical problem. 

“Access to safe drinking water on sustainable basis constitutes a fundamental and inalienable human right for everyone in India. The initiative has been launched to create awareness among people regarding the benefits of safe drinking water…as per WHO more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence including war,” SAR group founder Rakesh Malhotra said.

As part of the initiative, the foundation would focus on urban slums and various states including West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he added.

“There are so many children under 5 who are affected by water borne diseases…not just affected many lives are lost. It is a movement to help eradicate the mortality rate among children due to waterborne diseases,” cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said. 

He added that there is an immediate need for more of such movements because of water contamination problem in the country.

In order to reach out to people, the foundation plans to work closely with school students under a ‘Student Ambassador Programme’. As part of the initiative, the selected school students would be trained to pick up samples of water for laboratory testing and also bacterial contamination.

On the funding, Mr. Malhotra said it will not be a problem. They would be investing about Rs. 3 crore a year for the next six years to reach at least 10 per cent of India’s population. The challenge, he added, is to get volunteers on board to help spread the message.

SAR Group has interests in various sectors including telecom, electricals and water purifiers under the aegis of group firm ‘Luminous Water Technologies’.