Water Matters Expo at Planetarium (Until Mar. 31)
WATER MATTERS is an exhibition about water that’s going on at the Chennai BM Birla Planetarium campus. It’s open from 10.30 A.M. to 5.30 P.M. until Mar. 31, 2020. There is no need to buy any tickets if you’re going only to this expo.
This exhibition has been organized by the US Consulate – Chennai, Smithsonian Institution & Care Earth Trust.
We went there yesterday. There were 50+ exhibits giving information on the history of water, how water has been drawn, stored, and used across the world, how we have been over-using, polluting and destroying water habitats, what we can do to conserve water, etc.
What I liked most is the amount of localized content they have – most creatives are about water issues in Chennai or TN. The majority of the content is in both English and Tamil.
Here are a few Surprizing Points about Water I picked up there –
- Farmers in the Andes region of South America were able to predict rain by looking at the brightness of stars in the Pleiades Constellation. So stars were used to predict rains too, not just our future!
- Adiyila-kaathadicha Ippasiyil Mazhai-addikkum… do you remember this song? So people in India also use natural cues to predict and prepare for rains.
- Underground water exists from a few feet below (drawn from a well) to 30,000 feet below (drawn by deep bore wells).
- Kallanai (The Grand Anicut) built on the Kaveri river by the Chola King Karikalan around 100 BCE is one of the oldest water diversion structures that is still in use.
- A marsh is an area that holds water with grass growing out of the water; a swamp has trees growing out of it.
- 1782 liters of water are used to make 1 Kg of sugar; 4745 liters of water are used to make 1 Kg of milk powder; 10,000 liters of water are used to make 1 Kg of cotton fiber (clothes).
- Deprived of perennial rivers, Chennai depends on wetlands (20 feet) to conserve water and prevent drought. The erosion of wetlands quickly is a major problem that needs to be tackled urgently.
- Mathoor Aqueduct (built during 1966) in the Kanyakumari district is a one-kilometer long structure that carries water from one hill to another.
- 93% of sewage in India is drained into ponds, lakes, and rivers without treatment.
- 8 million metric tonnes of plastic are dumped into the sea from land every year. Plastic is non-biodegradable. The larger plastic waste is broken into small bits over a period of time and fishes/marine species consume them accidentally resulting in their premature death.
- On average, 38 liters of water per day is lost due to leakage in taps and other plumbing. Fixing these quickly will save a lot of water.
If you are a responsible citizen concerned about the sustainable availability and usage of water, visit this exhibition to understand and learn how all of us can contribute to managing our water resources better.
And remember – water matters!
Destination Infinity
Very interesting and useful information. Wish they informed Chennai residents how to convert sea water into drinking water.
I think I saw a slide on reverse osmosis to convert seawater into drinking water… There are two such plants in Chennai.
Destination Infinity
An illuminating post apt for Chennaites in particular.
“we never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
Or until borewells dry up… even that happens in Chennai.
Destination Infinity
Predicting rain by looking at stars sounds interesting! Absolutely, like said in thirukkural ‘neer indri amayathu ulagu’ water is need by any life on earth and everyone has the response to preserve it. The metro water has informed us (south Chennai residence) there won’t be water supply for next 15 days due to change of filters at the desalination plant on ECR so we have to get ready to reduce the use of water. I believe the convert of seawater to drinking could not be a good solution and we really miss the benefits of freshwater that come with natural element and minerals.
I’ve heard that desalination is not the best option too, but it’s better than not having water!
Destination Infinity