Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 5: A plethora of events were organised in the city Friday to commemorate World Environment Day. This year, United Nations had declared ‘Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet: Consume with Care’ as the theme for this year’s Environment Day.
Prerana, a non-profit organisation spearheading a green movement in Orissa for the last 15 years, organised a ‘Green Fest 2015’ in association with the State Pollution Control Board in order to raise awareness on ecological degradation of the environment at Soochana Bhawan Friday.
Engineer Biswamohan Patnaik was named ‘Green Man of The Year’ and was awarded a cash prize of Rs1 lakh for planting more than 20,000 saplings in a year. IFS officer Bhagirathi Behera and other environmental activists from various fields were felicitated for their contribution towards a cleaner, greener and healthier environment.
Governor SC Jamir attended the event as chief guest. “Planting new trees and taking care of the existing ones is the need of the hour. The task of environment protection is a universal responsibility for all of us. Hence, by planting trees, we will be making an important gesture by demonstrating our global concern while making a significant contribution to the cause,” Jamir said.
Drawing attention towards environmental conservation, Dillip Srichandan, president of Prerana said, “The rapid increase in global warming has led to drastic climate change. If every individual plants one tree each, we can make a huge difference.”
Apart from the event, a green rally was also taken out from Master Canteen square which culminated at Soochana Bhawan. Several competitions on fancy dress, arts and craft, were organised in which over 500 students from various schools participated.
Regional Officer of State Pollution Control Board Hadibandhu Panigrahi also deliberated on the need for a greener environment and urged youths to play an active part in sustainable development by planting trees.
In another event organised by the forest and environment department, around 238 activists were awarded for their efforts to conserve the environment, at Rabindra Mandap.
Highlighting the various initiatives taken by the department, forest and environment minister Bikram Keshari Arukh said steps are being taken to mitigate the impact of climate change. “Various steps have been taken by the department for the protection of the environment. The coastal belt conservation steps which were carried out have proved to be effective. A climate change action plan has been made which has also been successful,” Arukh said. “We have started 10,000 eco-clubs in various schools in the state in which students go to different villages and raise awareness among locals on the importance of conservation. We have also created 12,000 Forest Conservation Committees for the protection of forests. In the last week of June and the first week of July, we are going to start a massive tree plantation drive,” said Upendra Nath Behera, environment department secretary.
“Today’s unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are the major causes of the continued deterioration of the global environment. Though rapid industrialisation as well as urbanisation is essential to make our life qualitative in all aspects, care should be taken to protect our environment without compromising on the resource needs of future generations,” Behera said.
Several other events were organised in the city to mark the occasion. A discussion on the various aspects causing global warming was organised by Lok Shakti Abhiyan at Lohia Academy. Another event titled Youth for Environment, Youth for Change organised by Youth on Unity-You Coast Council in collaboration with CYSD was held on the premises of CYSD Friday.
Meanwhile, Orissa Environmentalists Society and Indian Science Congress Association (Bhubaneswar Chapter) also organised a discussion session on World Environment Day at the Regional Plant Resources Centre Friday. Reputed environmentalist SN Patro and others took part in the deliberations.
