This Article is From Mar 16, 2010

Mumbai airport to screen Sachin's 'shower' ad

Mumbai airport to screen Sachin's 'shower' ad
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will show the unedited version of its 'Save Water' campaign video, featuring master blaster Sachin Tendulkar at the Mumbai airport.

The BMC recently released the video showing Tendulkar back from a practice session and asking for half a glass of water - urging Mumbaikars to use water prudently.

The video had Tendulkar requesting people to use a bucket of water, instead of taking a shower. However, the part was deleted after corporators opposed it saying it was elitist, as most of Mumbai's population has no access to a shower.

With this in mind, the BMC plans to make two versions of the video.

While the version featuring the shower will be beamed at the airport keeping the elite crowd in mind, the edited version (use a bucket) will be shown in BEST buses and on television.

"We will show this video on LCD screens at the airport as people at airports fall under the corporators elite list,"  said a senior hydraulic engineer from the BMC.

The corporation has requested the agency handling the railway and airport LCD screens to show the water campaign video.

We are asking the agency handling advertisements on LCD screens at airport and railway stations to show our 'Save Water' video,  confirmed Vinay Deshpande, chief hydraulic engineer. "We don't want a special slot, but if they can arrange for something between advertisements."

The idea behind showing it at railway stations and airports is that outsiders coming to the city should know about the water crisis.

Presently, the videos are beamed on LCD screens in BEST buses.

"We are already displaying messages at railway stations. Soon, we will have hoardings showing Tendulkar with slogans of 'Paani vachva, Mumbai jagwa',  said a civic official.

Acute water shortage caused by a delayed monsoon spurred the BMC to rope in celebrities for its water campaign. Mumbai, which has a daily requirement of 4,200 million litres of water, has a shortfall of 800 million litres a day. While domestic users presently face a 15 per cent water cut, it's 30 per cent for commercial users.
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