6000 die every day due to lack of safe drinking water: Sunil

Bangalore, Dec 24: More than 6,000 people die every day due to lack of safe drinking water and over one billion people lack access to potable water.
This had forced California based Blue Planet Run Foundation (BPRF) to hold a 25000 km Marathon in June-September this year to draw the global attention and launch a campaign.

But for Sunil Jayaraj, the only Indian runner to participate in the 95 day non-stop run the reason was different. Sunil is currently doing his Phd in water resource management in Easter Manchester University "A pot of unsafe water for Rs four in my home district of Kolar in Karnataka and the cry for water in the flood affected Bihar, Bangladesh, Nepal created a sort of thirst in me to find a way out to solve drinking water problem in India'' he told the sources during his recent visit to India. He quit his lucrative job of Quality Engineer in a private firm to take up studies on water.

''I was in search of ways to raise funds to achieve my goal. In US they run to raise funds. Somebody told me you can rise funds by running Marathon of 43 Km at a stretch. I was not an athlete, but my strong desire to help in solving the drinking water problem, to help children, to promote education in India, I started running and with in four month of my running I could finish my first Marathon in 2003 Detriot Marathon in Michigan, the US'', he added.

UNI