PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Mauritius: Minister urges Mauritian population to make good use of water
Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – Mauritian Energy and Public Utilities Minister Ivan Collendavelloo has Friday emphasised the need to continue sensitizing the population on efficient use of water, saying "this is not only a matter of wastage but we should not ill-treat this commodity.”
Speaking at the celebration of World Water Day in the Mauritian capital, Collendavelloo said: "I see people washing their cars and their pavement in front of their homes at ease without any concerns for wastage.
"In Mauritius, we are used to see water falling from the tap but when it stops for two hours, we are frustrated.
"Not far from us, in Madagascar, people living out of the towns have never had a tap. The only water they know is rainwater that irrigates their paddy fields that gives them some food. Imagine their sufferings," he said, recalling the life of a small Somali child who has never seen water coming out of a tap or a Kenyan child who walks several kilometres daily to fetch water.
According to Collendavelloo, Mauritius was never always comfortable with water. "Earlier, women had to walk to the public fountains to get some water with the help of their children. We were considered lucky if in one village we could haves two public fountains. It's only after 1982 that water arrived in all homes,” he said.
He reminded the public that water is not only a basic human right but also a tool for economic and industrial development.
PANA reports that Mauritius receives every year about 2,100mm of rains that are collected in five surface and two big underground reservoirs. The latter caters for about 40% of the water demands in the island.
-0- PANA NA/IS/NA/AR 20Mar2015
Speaking at the celebration of World Water Day in the Mauritian capital, Collendavelloo said: "I see people washing their cars and their pavement in front of their homes at ease without any concerns for wastage.
"In Mauritius, we are used to see water falling from the tap but when it stops for two hours, we are frustrated.
"Not far from us, in Madagascar, people living out of the towns have never had a tap. The only water they know is rainwater that irrigates their paddy fields that gives them some food. Imagine their sufferings," he said, recalling the life of a small Somali child who has never seen water coming out of a tap or a Kenyan child who walks several kilometres daily to fetch water.
According to Collendavelloo, Mauritius was never always comfortable with water. "Earlier, women had to walk to the public fountains to get some water with the help of their children. We were considered lucky if in one village we could haves two public fountains. It's only after 1982 that water arrived in all homes,” he said.
He reminded the public that water is not only a basic human right but also a tool for economic and industrial development.
PANA reports that Mauritius receives every year about 2,100mm of rains that are collected in five surface and two big underground reservoirs. The latter caters for about 40% of the water demands in the island.
-0- PANA NA/IS/NA/AR 20Mar2015
