DCF Basavaraju at the inauguration of BAI’s World Environment Month Celebration
Mysore/Mysuru: In India, pollution is the third-highest cause of death among all health risks, ranking just above smoking and each year, more people die from pollution-related diseases rather than from road traffic injuries or other diseases. There is an urgent need for intervention and the only way to effectively combat pollution is to focus on the environment, said Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Mysuru Dr. K.N. Basavaraju.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the World Environment Month Celebration (WEMC) with the theme ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution,’ organised by Builders’ Association of India (BAI), Mysore Centre at Mysore Builders’ Charitable Trust (MBCT) auditorium in Vishweshwaranagar on June 1.
“World Environment Day is a chance to think about how we can restore our natural ecosystems. On June 5, every year, we celebrate World Environment Day. It is an annual reminder to people, organisations and Governments that we must take action to address the environmental challenges facing our planet,” he said.
Calling upon the residents of Mysuru to save Chamundi Hill, the only ecologically sensitive and biodiversity-rich natural lung space of Mysurfru, the DCF said that the Forest Department had joined hands with volunteers to rid the Hill of plastic. “To our surprise, during the month-long campaign, 40 truckloads of plastic were recovered,” he said.
“By focusing on ecosystem restoration we must be encouraged every day to take action to preserve, protect and restore the fragile natural ecosystems that are essential for the sustainability of everyday life,” he added.
People have realised that they must act fast to stem the damage and are undertaking various measures to undo the damage and restore the planet’s natural environment. “It is never too late to embark on a worthy cause as we have already underlined the importance of a cleaner and greener lifestyle and sustainable development. We all must adopt a green lifestyle and reform our professions and businesses to be more sustainable,” Dr.Basavaraju said.
Deviating from the topic to leopard attacks, Basavaraju said that although man-animal conflicts are increasing due to human encroachment on forest lands, the animals are trapped to avoid harm to humans. Moreover, leopards get attracted to human habitats due to factors like the easy availability of prey like stray dogs.
“Leopards are nocturnal animals and are agile and usually prey on animals that are short in height. They are extremely secretive and attack human beings only for their own safety. Human beings are not their prey and people should first understand that human beings are not food for leopards,” he added.
The month-long celebration was inaugurated by Conservation Biologist Sanjay Gubbi. BAI Mysore Centre Chairman Nagaraj V. Bairy, Hon. Secretary K.S. Balaji, WEMC Organising Committee Chairman A.S. Yoganarasimha, Hon. Secretary V. Gurudatt and others were present.
Month-long schedule of events
As part of the month-long programmes, the BAI is organising the following events:
Planting of saplings at Dristi Woods, Dadadahalli on June 5, at Builders’ Park, Srirampura on June 11, at AmbariDristi Properties, K.M. Halli, on June 24. Contact K.N. Ravishankar on 97398-37888 and S.L. Dinesh on 94487-52964.
June 10 and 11: MyGreen 2023 eco-friendly exhibition 10 am to 8.30 pm at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry, Vinoba Road. Contact: V. Srinath on 98453-17373 or M. Rathnaraj on 93421-84488, K.C. Nandakumar on 99458-09000 and T.S. Gurudatt on 98803-93343.
June 13: Day with homemaker workshop on the use of eco-friendly home appliances and products from 10 am to 1 pm. Chief guest N.S. Muralidhara, National Vice-President, BAI and speakers Dr. T.S. Sathyanarayana Rao, Prof. Dept. of Psychiatry, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Dr.Ambika Nazareth, Founder and President, Vibhaa Educational Institutions and Divyashree, Jail Superintendent. Venue: MBCT auditorium, Vishweshwaranagar. Contact Venkatesh Prasad on 98453-29553, H. Ashwath Narayan on 94491-32379 and Bhavya Shetty on 89700-70101.
June 17: Green Treasure Hunt for BAI, CREDAI, IGBC Members and their families only at 7 am. Contact: S. Prakash on 93421-51113, M.V. Vinod Kumar on 94814-38359, K.U. Ganapathi on 94480-53089.
June 18: Inauguration of BAI Cyclothon at 6 am at Chamundi Hill Back Route, Uthanahalli Road. Contact: B.S. ChandrashekarBharadwaj on 99455-17198, G. Ashok on 94480-61112, H.S. Deepak on 98451-16343 and Ashwin Palegar on 98442-77284.
June 21: Yoga Day. Contact D. Srihari on 98862-08000, N. Lokesh on 98454-97287 and B.N. Shivakumar on 97390-39595.
June 25: Drawing and painting competition for school children at MBCT Office in Vishweshwaranagar at 10 am; Topic: Solutions to plastic pollution. Contact B. Rajesh Darira on 90360-19604 and K.L. Gururaj on 98451-22100.
June 29: Trekking for BAI Members and their families only. Contact A. Dinesh on 94484-93364, C.D. Krishna on 94480-57016 and V. Mohan Kumar on 94480-53657.
Street plays will be held 3 times at prominent places in Mysuru.
June 30: Valedictory of the World Environment Month Celebration at 6.30 pm at MBCT auditorium in Vishweshwaranagar. Contact S.H. Srinivas on 94480-51801, M.D. Chandrashekar on 94480-49242 and MahabaleshwaraBairy on 94480-52559.
What Companies / Organisations should try next is to become “ Zero Waste to Landfill” company.By using the principle Reduce Reuse Recycle and Recover done by Unilever Ltd across all their 240 factories around the world.This might be the next step towards achieving sustainable development and at the same time saving planet Earth.Stake Holders in Tourism Industry can follow Sustainable Tourism principles to achieve “Zero Waste to Landfill company “ tag.
@Sanjay Kini
He is the example of a duplicitous Indian cretin, who argues about sustainable tourism -oxymoron, in India. He knows well that too. Just that he hides his interest of making more money from tourism-willy nilly, his occupation.
There is no sustainability, if as what he wants, expanding air flights from the Mysore airport and increasing highways connecting the City. These activities imcrease pollution and destroy eco-balance, as more and more tourists mean morecarbon foot prints. The otherday, I replied to his another suggestion , again on so called sustainable tourism for Mysore, expailing that Mysore city should not be treated as tourits only city, as he argues, as this city is the second most industralised city in the state. No need for piling up misery on those living in Mysore, when tourits atrrive, vandalise the city by throwing litters every where, using free spaces as toilets.
The promotion of the ill-advised tourism , means the Chamundi Hill will in a few years will be destroyed both physically as its geological structure crumbles due to the traffic loads on its road, and will end up as a heap of filthy dump .