The Blue Mile
Event information
The Blue Mile aims to sensitize about the struggles of millions of people for access to clean water every day. Availability and access to water still remains a big issue in India. The burden of collecting water falls mainly on girls and women giving them no time to play, go to school and earn a living. Clean water helps babies make it through their vulnerable first five years, gives new mums the best chance of survival and gives everyone a fighting chance of avoiding waterborne diseases. Clean water gives people the time and resources to find jobs, learn new skills and run successful businesses. It helps them break free from poverty and change their lives for good.
Run, Walk or Cycle and together we complete someone’s journey to fetch clean water.
Why Run for Water?
With a population of 1.38 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world. The country has 18 percent of the world’s population, but only 4 percent of its water resources, making it among the most water-stressed in the world. A safe water supply is the backbone of a healthy nation. When families do not have a safe and reliable water source, preferably direct to their home, then it is often women and children that are responsible for collecting water. International Development Enterprises (IDE) estimated that Indian women spend 15 crore work days every year fetching water, equivalent to a national loss of income of Rs.100 crores. This impacts not just rural women but also the rural and national economy.
According to a report by One India One People an average, a rural woman walks more than 14,000 km a year just to fetch water.
The key component for access to water is adequate and continuous availability of water. Given the planet Earth is witnessing the challenges of global warming and extreme climatic changes, it becomes critical to involve communities, not just in rural but urban areas too and create awareness for optimum usage.
Categories
The Blue Mile is divided into 3 categories of run – 2.5K, 5K, 10K. The run will focus on attracting runners from corporates, educational institutions like schools and colleges, retail customers and housewives.
Venue
The Blue Mile run will flag off at People Plaza, Necklace Road, Hyderabad on 03 March 2019.
Highlights from the event
Here are a few glimpses from the Run for Water.
