Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 28: A significant number of city residents from all walks of life Saturday marked Earth Hour by turning off their non-essential appliances to spread awareness on conservation of electricity and drive home the importance of preserving the environment to fight climate change.
People, particularly youngsters, expressed enthusiasm in observing Earth Hour as they took to the social networking sites such as the Facebook and the micro blogging platform Twitter to express their solidarity for the cause and said that these were the driving force behind spreading the message on energy conservation globally. Notably, many voluntary organisations have been promoting the cause and urging people to save electricity for the past several weeks.
“Observing the Earth Hour is exhilarating as it’s not just a message but a responsibility (we have) towards the environment. A majority of my friends switched off lights to save power during an hour-long global campaign supported by world wildlife fund (WWF),” a Stewart School student Prakash Jena said.
A cyclists’ group, We All Ride Bicycle, brought out a cycle rally to sensitise people on the issue between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm. The rally began at the AG Square and ended at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) via Nandankanan Zoo Road, Jaydev Vihar and many other prominent areas.
“People needed to be sensitised on energy conservation and that can be done through organising a rally such as this,” a cycle enthusiast and urban planner Piyush Rout said.
“With every passing year, more and more people are observing Earth Hour because of the intensive campaigning by voluntary groups. BMC also contributed its fair share to saving electricity,” Mayor AN Jena said.
Numerous government buildings such as the one housing the East Coast Railway (ECoR), the Police Commissionerate, the Secretariat, the historical, religious monuments like Rajarani, Mukteswar etc also switched off their lights to commemorate the occasion.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) also turned off street lights between AG Square and Raj Bhawan. A few volunteers kept solar lights in their hands to maintain proper illumination on the stretch for smooth traffic.
It is believed that Orissa has saved 460 mega watts of electricity during the campaign.