Kochi: The Catholic Church in Kerala has urged its followers to adopt sustainable measures to conserve water and protect water bodies from contamination and pollution.
In a circular issued by the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) commission on social justice and development, the Church has asked its bishops, clergy and the laity to observe the ongoing `Year of Mercy’ by respecting and refraining from abusing earth and nature.
Man as the protector of environment has to treat mother earth and nature as God’s gifts to mankind, it said.
It called upon on all Church-related social service organizations to take up activities to conserve water in wells.
Calling for tapping rainwater and diverting it to the traditional wells which would recharge the groundwater, it asked the laity to ensure that every drop of rain water is conserved. “Though the state gets 3,000 mm of rains in a year, more than 70 percent is drained off. This flow must be prevented.”
The circular said that most houses had either tiled or tarred the roads and the paths as a result of which the water flows on. Rain collection drains or rain holes should be made so that the water flows down into the mud and thus goes into the groundwater system, reports The Times of India.
The waste water from the house should be reused for gardening or washing. People have to undergo a self-realisation that fall in rains could lead to severe water shortage in many areas.
“We have been doing a lot of work in spreading the message of sustainable living.The Year of Mercy comes to an end of next month but we don’t want people to forget it. So we have issued the circular to tell people to make it a way of life,” said KCBC deputy secretary general Fr Varghese Vallikkat.
He said that each diocese would work to ensure that it become a practice in the society. These were some practical guidelines for people to implement in their life, he added.