Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
‘Run Blue’ marathon for water conservation finishes Thane leg
NEW DELHI: Water advocate and ultramarathon runner Mina Guli on Friday completed her 155th marathon, in Thane, to raise awareness on water conservation as part of the India chapter of the Run Blue campaign.
The campaign is being organised by life sciences company Bayer, in partnership with water advocate and ultramarathon runner Mina Guli, across five cities in the country. It aims to organise 200 marathons across the world in the run-up to the first global United Nations 2023 Water Conference scheduled to be held in New York from March 22 to 24.
Guli, who has been leading the marathons, has already completed 155 of the 200 marathons so far.Thane, a city neighbouring Mumbai and famous for several lakes dotting the city, is also home to Bayer’s India headquarters. The marathon began in early morning from Bayer House in Hiranandani Estate and covered various parts before returning to the spot.
The run saw the participation of several Bayer employees, who also actively engaged in conversations with her on reducing water wastage.
“I am happy to see the increased awareness on water conservation and healthy rivers being displayed by senior policymakers, government officials, corporates and the general public in my runs through various cities in India and along the Ganga. But a lot still needs to be done,” Guli said after the run.
“My recent meetings with farmers at the Better Life Farming Hub, India’s G20 Sherpa, communities and a host of Bayer employees gives me renewed hope that there is a genuine realisation about the need to act now to save water and protect and restore the health of rivers. Countries and companies are beginning to realise that tackling the water crisis and improving the health of rivers, lakes and wetlands is directly linked to food security, health security, and climate change adaptation,” she added.
In a statement, Bayer said that in alignment with government and international policy imperatives on sustainable development goals, the company is committed to ensuring water sustainability across its key programs, innovations, and operations. “Bayer implements water efficiency across its cropping methods (direct seeded rice or DSR and alternate wetting and drying or AWD) to promote the adoption of environmentally effective technologies and sustainable practices to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and has introduced waterefficient hybrids (for corn and rice). These solutions are mitigating water consumption by 30-40%,” it said.
“Through various programs such as Better Life Farming, food value chain partnerships, strengthening and nurturing farmer producer organisations (FPO), FarmRise, and ‘better farms, better lives’, Bayer continues to collaborate with key stakeholders in the value chain on the creation, design, testing and implementation of smart water solutions,” it added.
Stressing the need to act on water conservation, D Narain, president, Bayer South Asia and Global Head of Smallholder Farming, said: “Bayer is sharply focused on ensuring every drop of water count. Excessive groundwater extraction, discharge of pollutants into rivers, and cultivation practices in water intensive crops like rice are severely eroding water availability for today and for the future as well. Bayer’s collaborative efforts at reducing water usage in agriculture are supplemented by its efforts to reduce water consumption at its manufacturing facilities, offices and the communities we support through our corporate social engagement efforts.”
Narain added: “I thank Mina for focusing on this important cause in partnership with Bayer. I hope her marathons will help catalyse the creation of a coalition of government, corporates, NGOs, and civil society to protect and conserve water for our future generations.”
The India chapter of the campaign was flagged off by India’s G20 Sherpa and former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on January 8 from New Delhi.
Flagging off the run in the national capital, Kant said: “Climate change is having a huge impact on countries around the world and especially on developing countries like India. Its adverse effects on agriculture, water resources, forests, etc are quite evident. Coupled with the rapid depletion of many critical natural resources, we face a challenging future. Hence, it is imperative for countries to come together to achieve the sustainability goals set by the United Nations.”
He added: “India has continuously met its nationally defined contribution targets on sustainability and the government’s efforts at rapidly increasing access to clean water are bearing fruit. But water conservation will also require a collaborative effort among companies, government, and civil society and Run Blue can be an important catalyst in building up this coalition.” The initiative will “inspire people and encourage social transformation for a better tomorrow”, he said.
The marathon was also held in Varanasi on Wednesday to raise awareness about the impact of expansion and urbanisation on the banks of the river Ganga.The expansion and growing urbanisation of cities on the banks of the river and the discharge of industrial waste have impacted the river and pollution is a major challenge today, Bayer had said in a statement.