New Delhi made heads turn a month back with its abysmal air pollution statistics. Most Indian cities seem to be fighting a losing battle with the mounting solid waste crisis. Providing safe drinking water and sanitation are herculean tasks for many civic bodies. While these facts are no surprise to many, we rarely find ourselves mulling over the larger issues.

 

NDTV, in association with Godrej have come up with a reality show with a twist. The ‘Godrej Green Champion’ brings to the fore issues relating to the environment where contestants, inspired by Green activists, traverse the length and breadth of India to be crowned the ‘Green Champions’.

 

Issues surrounding water, its availability and access have captured the imagination of both the scholarly as well as the mundane. No discourse on the environment would be complete without a discussion on water.

 

The Green Champions’ focussed on the issue of rainwater harvesting in one of their legs and the episode’s mentor was Bangalore’s very own rain man, S. Viswanath. Through the Rainwater Club, Vishwanath has reached out to individuals as well as institutions in Bangalore and beyond, encouraging urban folk to harvest rainwater and also recycle greywater.

 

The teams were tasked with collecting rainwater that falls within a Government school campus. Fixing down take pipes to direct rainwater from the roofs, setting up collection tanks and outlet pipes was part of the challenge. The teams were judged on the quality of their work, inventiveness and on how well they functioned as a team. 

 

The result: an entertaining DIY rainwater harvesting show.