Earth Hour: Gurgaon goes dark for an hour for a brighter future

Among the famous buildings taking part are the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, London’s Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, Sydney’s Opera House, Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, Moscow’s Kremlin and the Pyramids of Egypt.

Residents of many condominiums and sectors observed the Earth Hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on Saturday. Several families planned outings and candlelight dinners to do their bit to save electricity during the Earth Hour.

Gurgaon highrises switched off their lights from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on Saturday as part of Earth Hour, a global initiative to promote energy conservation by turning off all non-essential lights and appliances. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Earth Hour is a movement organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on the last Saturday of March every year. Individuals communities, households and businesses across the globe are encouraged to take a stand against climate change by switching off non-essential lights for one hour — from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. The country has been part of the initiative since 2009.

Madhu Sudan Choudhary, president of Garden Ville RWA, DLF City Phase 4, said, “Similar to the last three years, we will observe the day this year too. We will switch off streetlights and all residents will light a candle for an hour.”

“Once you switch off your lights, it feels as if you have joined hands with every Indian home. We prefer to observe the hour by going for a walk and then for some refreshments. I think Earth Hour should be observed more often as people get to do their bit for the environment, said Amit Jindal, RWA president, Vipul Greens, Sector 48 said.

“It is a great experience to unite with communities across borders in an effort to conserve our planet,” said Rajeev Dagar, a resident of DLF Gardencity.

A special assembly was organised at Lancers International School to mark the Earth Hour. The assembly stressed on the need to raise awareness on issues of global concern such as climate change and global warming. The students also shared their views on ‘How to Save the Earth’ and secure the future for coming generations.

They urged the school community to switch off lights for two hours and make use of solar lights.

All students of universities such as Amity University, The NorthCap University, Starex University and Ansal University were also told to keep their lights off for one hour.

“I appreciate the support extended by the citizens and corporates of Gurgaon to observe the Earth Hour. Judicious use of energy is the need of the hour and we should join this global movement to save energy for future generations.” Shatrujeet Kapur, CMD, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited.