Trustees in Parsi fire temples could take a tip from a greening effort that is saving water in 120 mosques and madressas all over the country. Taps in these locations have been fitted with a joy stick which allows water to flow only when pressed. The device costing Rs 150 per tap is helping save thousands of liters of water, noted The Times of India (ToI) of April 2, 2019. At Nagpada’s Alexandra Cinema-turned-mosque, use of water for the wazu (ablution) ritual is down by nearly 75%, while a madressa in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district said the 500-student school saves 20,000-25,000 liters of water daily, stated the report. Wazu is a mandatory ritual for a Muslim before undertaking prayers or reciting from the Quran. It involves cupping of water with two hands, washing of the face, hands up to the elbows, and feet up to the ankles.
Businessman Javed Hava, who developed the user friendly device with his cousin Faisal Hava, told ToI that "instead of using steel, we have used molded plastic to keep it light and its cost low… Taps with sensors also save water, but… are very expensive and charity-run mosques and madressas cannot afford them.”
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