Chamundi Hill cleared of 40 truckload waste in a month

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.