Akshay Kumar walks half marathon on treadmill to raise awareness about water scarcity

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Tuesday lent his support and participated in a campaign that aims at spreading awareness about the water crisis in India and how one can contribute to saving water. 

In an attempt to understand the plight of women who walk miles to fetch water in the rural areas, Akshay walked the treadmill for more than 21 kilometres, that is equivalent to Half Marathon, to mirror the distances the women walk to fetch clean water.

He said that while participating in half marathon, the athletes are given water at various intervals, but in real life, we need to understand the difficulties faced by these hardworking women.

Sharing a video on his Instagram handle Akahsy wrote why he chose to be a part of this campaign. He wrote, "Mission Paani My reason to connect with #MissionPaani Waterthon is very personal as in a way water is the reason I'm still able to work today, nothing heals the body better than water...I'm a living example of the same!"

Talking about one of his experiences where water helped him heal, Akshay can be heard saying the video he shared on his social media, that in the 90s, at a time when his career had just begun, during the shooting of the film 'Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi', he, out of excitement, literally picked up  WWE champion Undertaker. Because of this act of his, he said, he suffered from slip disk. He elaborated, that even after visiting several doctors and taking treatment for about a year, nothing helped him. 

Then, he said, a doctor suggested him, hydrotherapy. He said, the doctor suggested that he should start mild exercises in the water. 

Akshay admitted that it helped him and so even today, he mentioned, that he does a lot of his workout sessions in the water, eg: running in a swimming pool etc. 

Then, while pointing at a video clip of his, Akshay said that he recently bought a water treadmill which is a life saviour. When asked isn't he wasting water, Akshay added that the after his workout is done, the water is automatically saved in a tank. One can filter it or add chlorine and use the same water for about 3-4 months, mentioning that he is recycling water. 

Earlier, he also talked about three easy ways of saving water. 

- Offer only half a glass of water to the guests. If they feel thirsty, they can ask for more. 

- Use the small tap over urinals in order to save water.

- Install sensor taps in homes that can control the usage of water.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Akshay has a line up of films scheduled for release this year including Sooryavanshi, Atrangi Re and Bell Bottom.