Did you know that at least 1 million children die every year due to water-borne diseases in India? Out of them, at least 6,00,000 children are under the age of five and they mostly die due to inadequate supply of water. Even though India is progressing every day in each field, we still have a long way to go. If we can’t protect our children, then there will be no future for our country. Yet, we lose so many children every year just because they didn’t have access to safe water. On this Children’s Day, Penguin Tank, supplier of water tanks in Kolkata is asking you to come forward and work towards making the water of India safe for children.

While medically we have progressed so much and so many doctors are born in our country every day, it is a shame that one-third of all deaths of children under the age of five in India are due to diarrhoea and pneumonia. This is due to the contamination of water in rural areas. It has been estimated that at least one-third of groundwater in rural areas are contaminated with microbes. But this contamination is very much preventable through maintenance and following sanitisation practices.

Other than groundwater, India’s main sources of drinking water are the rivers in all states. But urban population have either dried up those rivers or they have polluted it with industrial pollutants. While the urban population have access and money to filter the contaminated water to drink clean and safe water, the rural population still does not have that. This is why most children who die from water-borne diseases are from rural areas.

So, this is a high time, that we become conscious about how our actions are affecting so many children who have the right to have a good future just like your children. This year, while you are celebrating children’s day with your children, think about how so many other children do not have access to a basic thing like clean water.

While the government takes steps to give access to safe and clean groundwater in rural areas, it is our job to keep the rivers clean and not waste unnecessary water. Try not to use water more than the water tank that has been installed in your house. Not only you need to become environment-conscious, but also you need to teach your child to do the same too. So, become a good teacher and a good role model for your children by working to protect the water of India.