Save trees, save environment, says Governor
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi said here today that it was alarming that environment, once the protector of mankind, was itself endangered and required protection.
Speaking at a function organised at the Raj Bhavan here to mark the World Environment Day today, the Governor said that the Chipko movement of Uttarakhand had created awareness about environment protection all over the world.
He said that every person must resolve to save trees that were being felled or were burning in forest fires.
He said that the issue of nature and environment conservation was the most important issue that needed to be deliberated upon globally.
Addressing the children present on the occasion, the Governor said that protecting the environment was ones' moral responsibility.
The programme was organised by the G.B.Pant High Altitude Zoo, Nainital.
Students of 17 schools of Nainital participated in the painting competition organised on the occasion.
The Governor gave away prizes to 18 winners of the contest.The competition had three categories -one from classes 3 to 5, the second from classes 6 to 8 and the third from classes 9 to 12. In the first category,Chandraprakash of Bharatiya Shaheed Sainik School, in the second Vijaykant of Mohan Lal Shah Bal Vidya Mandir and in the third Khushbu Rawat of Mohan Lal Shah Balika Vidya Mandir won the first prize.
The judges of the competition, A.N.Singh and B.M.Joshi, were also honoured by the Governor.
The Governor also inaugurated, on the occasion, the fernery created by the Forest Department in the Raj Bhavan campus.
210 children take part in skating rally
Dehradun, June 5
As part of World Environment Day, a skating rally was organised in the campus of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Director, FRI, Dr PP Bhojvaid, and Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat flagged off the rally. A total of 210 skaters in the age group of 5-16 participated in the 2.5 km-long rally.
Skaters also displayed posters and slogans on the subject of environment.
Later, a quiz on environment was conducted for the participants of the skating rally.
Take precautions to check forest fires, says samiti
Haridwar, June 5
In view of the large number of incidents of forest fires in the entire Uttarakhand, a demand has been made to prohibit matchsticks, lighters and other inflammable materials in the forest range.
To highlight this aspect, on World Environment Day, activists of Uttarakhand Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation that played a positive role in the statehood movement, climbed on trees to propagate this message.
Founder of the samiti JP Pandey said that hundreds of hectares of forest and flora and fauna had been destroyed by forest fires this summer season alone, and this was the situation in every fire season.
"Preventive steps need to be taken, particularly prohibiting taking of matchsticks or lighters in the forests' green cover area. Forest officials, too, have pointed that tourists or even local people who come to hills leave behind burned matchsticks or buts of cigarettes, and even adventure tourists, trekkers leave dry burned wood sticks in the forests after using these for cooking purposes. These are the major source of forest fires," said Pandey, while climbing a tree on NH-58 adjacent to Ganga canal.
Dheerendra Pratap, Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson, gave the slogan of 'Saving Forests of Uttarakhand,' distributing awareness paper copies to passersby.
Urging Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to take stringent steps in this regard, social activist Meera Raturi demanded stringent environmental laws in the state, particularly in forest areas and national parks.
Raturi cited temperatures in the hilly towns of Pauri, Srinagar, Garhwal and Tehri touching 40 degree C, which was alarming owing to degrading forest cover, forest fires and imbalance in local ecology.
Shivangi Gaud, an activist, urged people to plant as many trees as possible on the occasion and expressed concern over thousands of trees being cut for expansion of four lane NH-58.
Tibetans run to spread eco awareness Mussoorie, June 5
Members of the Regional Tibetan Women’s Association (RTWA) along with the Tibetan community in exile organised a green marathon race here to educate people about conserving environment on the occasion World Environment Day today.
More than 50 participants from the Tibetan community, young and old, gathered at Library Bazaar early morning wearing homemade aprons bearing a message “care for your environment”.
President of the Mussoorie Municipal Council OP Uniyal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, flagged off the race. He commended the efforts of the Tibetan community, especially the RTWA, in sensitising the people towards preserving environment. He gave away citations and awards to the winners of the race.
The RTWA members presented a traditional scarf to Uniyal as a mark of respect. The president of the RTWA, Tsering Yangzom, said, “Environment has become an important issue and if we do not care for it now, the environment problems will worsen and the future generations will have to pay for them dearly.”
Yangzom used the opportunity to highlight the Tibetan issue and said it was also important to draw the attention of the international community towards the impact of climate change upon Tibet’s unique ecosystem and rampant exploitation of its natural resources by the Chinese government. Yangzom criticised the Chinese regime saying it was indiscriminately felling trees in the Tibetan plateau and dumping nuclear waste there. This was dangerous not only for Tibet but also for neighbouring countries as Tibet was a source to many rivers that passed through a large area of the Asian continent, she added.
The RTWA president requested the international community to pressure oppressive China to stop the continuous exploitation of environment in Tibet, which is considered as the Roof of the World.
CM favours ban on polybags
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has advocated banning polybags and setting up of an environment directorate in the state.
Speaking as the chief guest of a programme organised by the Forest Department and the Pollution Control Board to commemorate World Environment Day here today, Bahuguna expressed concern over forest fires and said at present there was 2, 500 km long fire line in the state. "We will try to increase it up to 9,000 km," he said. Stringent action would be taken against the persons found involved in forest fires.
Laying emphasis on general awareness towards environment conservation, the Chief Minister said special subject on environment ought to be included in the syllabus to connect the maximum youth with environment conservation.
He pointed out that economy and human lives of Uttarakhand was largely depended on environment. Asserting on the balance between environment and development, Bahuguna maintained that along with the preservation of environment, it would be ensured that basic facilities of local people were not adversely affected due to Acts related to environment. "We all have to put unified effort for green economy," he exhorted.
Bahuguna disclosed that financial assistance of Rs 80,000 had been sanctioned for environmentalist Rambabu "Junglee" who is admitted to CMI Hospital.
Also present on the occasion were MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, Mayor Vinod Chamoli, Principal Chief Forest Conservator Dr RBS Rawat, President of the CII Uttarakhand Chapter R Aggarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association Dr Rajesh Kalra and Member Secretary of the Environment Conservation & Control Board Jayraj.
Chief Minister Bahuguna also planted a sapling at his residence.
Environment Day observed as black day
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Janmanch members today observed World Environment Day as black day. Janmanch members staged protests in Dehradun, Srinagar and Chamba regions of the state. Janmanch in Dehradun held a protest at Uttarakhand Forest Department headquarters. Raising slogans against state Forest Department, the protesters alleged that Forest Conservation Act was proving a stumbling block in the development of the region.
Uttarakhand Janmanch Principal General Secretary Rajen Todaria said he will further intensify the agitation against the department in the days to come.
A rally was also staged in Srinagar and Chamba in support of hydropower projects in Uttarakhand. The protesters also burnt the effigy of Ganga River Basin Authority.
Sapling plantation drive on varsity campus
Dehradun, June 5
HNB Garhwal University's Environment Science Department organised a tree sapling plantation drive at its Srinagar Garhwal campus. Vice Chancellor of the university SK Singh, who himself planted a sapling, said environment today was a major concern all across the globe. He said that it was the duty of every person to safeguard the environment.
He said it was a matter of extreme happiness that Uttarakhand had 65 per cent of it's geographical areas under forests and called upon the students to further enhance the forest cover in the state.
Environment Science Department head Ramesh Chandra Sharma spoke about World Environment Day. He referred to a Stockholm conference which was behind the beginning of World Environment Day.
Amla and jamun tree saplings were planted in large numbers by the students of the Environment Department on the occasion.
Cycle rally by ABVP
Dehradun, June 5
Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad activists today staged a cycle rally in Dehradun to observe World Environment Day.
Flagging off the rally from Subhash Road, Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli said environment today was a major concern globally and asserted that it was the responsibility of every citizen to work for its conservation.
The rally that started from Subhash Road took Behl Chowk-Rajpur Road route before culminating at Subhash Road itself. A large number of ABVP members participated in the rally.
Madhusudan, Uttarakhand organisational secretary of ABVP, coordinated the event.
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi said here today that it was alarming that environment, once the protector of mankind, was itself endangered and required protection.
Speaking at a function organised at the Raj Bhavan here to mark the World Environment Day today, the Governor said that the Chipko movement of Uttarakhand had created awareness about environment protection all over the world.
He said that every person must resolve to save trees that were being felled or were burning in forest fires.
He said that the issue of nature and environment conservation was the most important issue that needed to be deliberated upon globally.
Addressing the children present on the occasion, the Governor said that protecting the environment was ones' moral responsibility.
The programme was organised by the G.B.Pant High Altitude Zoo, Nainital.
Students of 17 schools of Nainital participated in the painting competition organised on the occasion.
The Governor gave away prizes to 18 winners of the contest.The competition had three categories -one from classes 3 to 5, the second from classes 6 to 8 and the third from classes 9 to 12. In the first category,Chandraprakash of Bharatiya Shaheed Sainik School, in the second Vijaykant of Mohan Lal Shah Bal Vidya Mandir and in the third Khushbu Rawat of Mohan Lal Shah Balika Vidya Mandir won the first prize.
The judges of the competition, A.N.Singh and B.M.Joshi, were also honoured by the Governor.
The Governor also inaugurated, on the occasion, the fernery created by the Forest Department in the Raj Bhavan campus.
210 children take part in skating rally
Dehradun, June 5
As part of World Environment Day, a skating rally was organised in the campus of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Director, FRI, Dr PP Bhojvaid, and Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat flagged off the rally. A total of 210 skaters in the age group of 5-16 participated in the 2.5 km-long rally.
Skaters also displayed posters and slogans on the subject of environment.
Later, a quiz on environment was conducted for the participants of the skating rally.
Take precautions to check forest fires, says samiti
Haridwar, June 5
In view of the large number of incidents of forest fires in the entire Uttarakhand, a demand has been made to prohibit matchsticks, lighters and other inflammable materials in the forest range.
To highlight this aspect, on World Environment Day, activists of Uttarakhand Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation that played a positive role in the statehood movement, climbed on trees to propagate this message.
Founder of the samiti JP Pandey said that hundreds of hectares of forest and flora and fauna had been destroyed by forest fires this summer season alone, and this was the situation in every fire season.
"Preventive steps need to be taken, particularly prohibiting taking of matchsticks or lighters in the forests' green cover area. Forest officials, too, have pointed that tourists or even local people who come to hills leave behind burned matchsticks or buts of cigarettes, and even adventure tourists, trekkers leave dry burned wood sticks in the forests after using these for cooking purposes. These are the major source of forest fires," said Pandey, while climbing a tree on NH-58 adjacent to Ganga canal.
Dheerendra Pratap, Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson, gave the slogan of 'Saving Forests of Uttarakhand,' distributing awareness paper copies to passersby.
Urging Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to take stringent steps in this regard, social activist Meera Raturi demanded stringent environmental laws in the state, particularly in forest areas and national parks.
Raturi cited temperatures in the hilly towns of Pauri, Srinagar, Garhwal and Tehri touching 40 degree C, which was alarming owing to degrading forest cover, forest fires and imbalance in local ecology.
Shivangi Gaud, an activist, urged people to plant as many trees as possible on the occasion and expressed concern over thousands of trees being cut for expansion of four lane NH-58.
Tibetans run to spread eco awareness Mussoorie, June 5
Members of the Regional Tibetan Women’s Association (RTWA) along with the Tibetan community in exile organised a green marathon race here to educate people about conserving environment on the occasion World Environment Day today.
More than 50 participants from the Tibetan community, young and old, gathered at Library Bazaar early morning wearing homemade aprons bearing a message “care for your environment”.
President of the Mussoorie Municipal Council OP Uniyal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, flagged off the race. He commended the efforts of the Tibetan community, especially the RTWA, in sensitising the people towards preserving environment. He gave away citations and awards to the winners of the race.
The RTWA members presented a traditional scarf to Uniyal as a mark of respect. The president of the RTWA, Tsering Yangzom, said, “Environment has become an important issue and if we do not care for it now, the environment problems will worsen and the future generations will have to pay for them dearly.”
Yangzom used the opportunity to highlight the Tibetan issue and said it was also important to draw the attention of the international community towards the impact of climate change upon Tibet’s unique ecosystem and rampant exploitation of its natural resources by the Chinese government. Yangzom criticised the Chinese regime saying it was indiscriminately felling trees in the Tibetan plateau and dumping nuclear waste there. This was dangerous not only for Tibet but also for neighbouring countries as Tibet was a source to many rivers that passed through a large area of the Asian continent, she added.
The RTWA president requested the international community to pressure oppressive China to stop the continuous exploitation of environment in Tibet, which is considered as the Roof of the World.
CM favours ban on polybags
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has advocated banning polybags and setting up of an environment directorate in the state.
Speaking as the chief guest of a programme organised by the Forest Department and the Pollution Control Board to commemorate World Environment Day here today, Bahuguna expressed concern over forest fires and said at present there was 2, 500 km long fire line in the state. "We will try to increase it up to 9,000 km," he said. Stringent action would be taken against the persons found involved in forest fires.
Laying emphasis on general awareness towards environment conservation, the Chief Minister said special subject on environment ought to be included in the syllabus to connect the maximum youth with environment conservation.
He pointed out that economy and human lives of Uttarakhand was largely depended on environment. Asserting on the balance between environment and development, Bahuguna maintained that along with the preservation of environment, it would be ensured that basic facilities of local people were not adversely affected due to Acts related to environment. "We all have to put unified effort for green economy," he exhorted.
Bahuguna disclosed that financial assistance of Rs 80,000 had been sanctioned for environmentalist Rambabu "Junglee" who is admitted to CMI Hospital.
Also present on the occasion were MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, Mayor Vinod Chamoli, Principal Chief Forest Conservator Dr RBS Rawat, President of the CII Uttarakhand Chapter R Aggarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association Dr Rajesh Kalra and Member Secretary of the Environment Conservation & Control Board Jayraj.
Chief Minister Bahuguna also planted a sapling at his residence.
Environment Day observed as black day
Dehradun, June 5
Uttarakhand Janmanch members today observed World Environment Day as black day. Janmanch members staged protests in Dehradun, Srinagar and Chamba regions of the state. Janmanch in Dehradun held a protest at Uttarakhand Forest Department headquarters. Raising slogans against state Forest Department, the protesters alleged that Forest Conservation Act was proving a stumbling block in the development of the region.
Uttarakhand Janmanch Principal General Secretary Rajen Todaria said he will further intensify the agitation against the department in the days to come.
A rally was also staged in Srinagar and Chamba in support of hydropower projects in Uttarakhand. The protesters also burnt the effigy of Ganga River Basin Authority.
Sapling plantation drive on varsity campus
Dehradun, June 5
HNB Garhwal University's Environment Science Department organised a tree sapling plantation drive at its Srinagar Garhwal campus. Vice Chancellor of the university SK Singh, who himself planted a sapling, said environment today was a major concern all across the globe. He said that it was the duty of every person to safeguard the environment.
He said it was a matter of extreme happiness that Uttarakhand had 65 per cent of it's geographical areas under forests and called upon the students to further enhance the forest cover in the state.
Environment Science Department head Ramesh Chandra Sharma spoke about World Environment Day. He referred to a Stockholm conference which was behind the beginning of World Environment Day.
Amla and jamun tree saplings were planted in large numbers by the students of the Environment Department on the occasion.
Cycle rally by ABVP
Dehradun, June 5
Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad activists today staged a cycle rally in Dehradun to observe World Environment Day.
Flagging off the rally from Subhash Road, Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli said environment today was a major concern globally and asserted that it was the responsibility of every citizen to work for its conservation.
The rally that started from Subhash Road took Behl Chowk-Rajpur Road route before culminating at Subhash Road itself. A large number of ABVP members participated in the rally.
Madhusudan, Uttarakhand organisational secretary of ABVP, coordinated the event.
