Mysore/Mysuru: Activist and filmmaker Prakash Belawadi has said Mysuru should be developed as a model city while preserving its unique aesthetics.

He was speaking after inaugurating a day-long symposium on ‘Sustainable Development Vision for Greater Mysuru’, organised by the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Centre for Sustainability, Chanakya University, Bengaluru, at the NIE Diamond Jubilee Complex Hall in the city yesterday.

Belawadi expressed concern over the growing environmental crisis, stating that rapid development has led to increasing pollution of air, water, soil and oceans year after year. At the same time, rising temperatures are turning the Earth into what he described as a “poisonous planet.”

“The present generation and our ancestors together have contributed to creating a poisonous planet for posterity,” he lamented.

He warned that even if corrective measures are taken now across sectors to clean the polluted environment and restore ecological balance to what it was about a century ago, it could take at least 400 years to reverse the damage.

“Such is the extent of environmental degradation. This should serve as a wake-up call for everyone to prioritise sustainable development above all else,” he added.

Belawadi emphasised the need to develop Mysuru as a model city for the rest of the country through coordinated efforts by the public, institutions and elected representatives. Development projects, he said, should be undertaken only after careful analysis and with clear short-term and long-term goals.

FICCI President Shaju Mangalam, NIE President Dr. M.S. Ranganath, Secretary S.B. Udayshankar, Principal Dr. B.S. Nagendra Parashar, former Principals Dr. K.C. Manjunath and Dr. G.L. Shekar, Coordinator Dr. Sanjith S. Anchan and Prof. Dr. Balaji were present.