The Water Cycle

For a 73-year-old,one would imagine the definition of the ultimate life is one of peace and comfort. Prabha Gogate however,prefers to recycle water. She started a recycling project in her Salunke Vihar building,where she collects kitchen waste water from eight flats,accumulating the water into a 500-litre capacity tank in the building’s backyard. “I have combined the pipes of eight households together,so that the kitchen waste comes directly into the tank. The water is then treated with a chemical prepared by Dr Uday Bhavalkar. The chemical acts as a strong clearing agent which kills the water-borne germs effectively. One pack of the chemical every three months,is enough for the tank’s capacity,” explains Gogate.

The processed water is then fed to varieties of plants maintained by Gogate in her garden – from Arabian banana and chikoo trees to magnificient floras like the jeevanjot,hibiscus,snow tub,madhavi champa and night-flowering jasmines. It was her love for plants and garndeing that moved her to begin the project in the first place. “I never give additional manure to my plants since the water serves as a natural manure containing all the required nutritions. The water is treated properly,so it doesn’t even produce bad odour,” she says.

But paths of altruism are never smooth and success stories are incomplete without difficulties. Nevertheless,Gogate handled the difficulties and the criticisms coming her way with patience and gentleness. “I invested around Rs 10,000 for the tank. But one day the tank suddenly burst and I had to stop my work for some months. I used to ask my driver,Babu to get water for my plants to water them. This continued for some time and I had to invest another Rs 12,000 for a new tank,” she shares,adding,”These technicalities weren’t the only problems I faced.”

Some of her neighbours ,she says,were unsupportive and often mocked her initiative. “They complained about foul smell,mosquitoes and charged me for using clean water for the plants. They completely refuse to believe that I recycle the kitchen waste generated from their households,” she says. “Being a single lady,I faced all of that with very few people to stand by me,” she shares. Her hard work eventually found appreciation though. “Many people visit me every morning for tulsi leaves or some fruits. I never let them down. Anyone is free to take anything from my garden. That way it encourages me even more,” she says.