World Environment Day: A vow to make peace with blue planet

Conservation, adoption of sustainable modes of living, and preservation of natural resources formed the overarching themes of the events

A series of events, including plantation drives, cycle rides, and other programmes, were organised in the city on Sunday to mark the World Environment Day. Conservation, adoption of sustainable modes of living, and preservation of natural resources formed the overarching themes of the events.

An elderly man rides past a graffiti to raise awareness on the environment, in Gurugram, India, on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Residents of Sare Homes in Sector 92 distributed cloth bags to shopkeepers and encouraged them to discontinue plastic bags. The residents also took a pledge to make the society polythene free by June 15. “We have also decided to increase the green cover inside and outside the condominium by planting more trees,” said Pravin Malik, president, Sare Homes RWA.

The Times Residency Welfare Association also planted trees in their society. They posted on Twitter saying the society was on its way to make the condominium the greenest in the area.

Rakesh Rana, president, Saikunj RWA, Palam Vihar, said that they planted several trees in the colony and have decided to motivate residents to maximise the green cover.

The Gurugram district administration, meanwhile, organised a bicycle ride in collaboration with the Raahgiri Foundation to promote environmental conservation. The city police, meanwhile, said that it planted around 500 trees at police stations, posts, and traffic booths.

“We also carried out a cleanliness drive at the stations and police posts,” said a spokesperson of the city police.

Sanjay Chugh, general secretary, Urja Samiti, an NGO said that they planted native saplings such as Peepul, Amla, Imli and Neem in Sector 31 as these are suited to local conditions and help in cleaning the air.

Naveen Goyal, in-charge, BJP’s state environment cell, said that they planted 75 saplings in the memory of 75 martyrs of the country at Kamla Nehru Park. “We will take care of these saplings in the next few years to ensure they survive,” he said.

In a campaign developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the agency’s mascot ‘Frankie the Dino’ has been urging everyone not to choose “extinction” and act before it’s too late. The UNDP and DLF brought Frankie the Dino to Cyber Hub on Saturday evening.

The messaging is a stark reminder that while the dinosaurs went extinct due to an asteroid, we humans are driving ourselves extinct through climate change, said an official UNDP communique.