THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The children and youth in Kerala should lead the movement for conserving and restoring the environment, said Minister Antony Raju while flagging off the cyclathon organised as a part of ‘Nambu,’ the climate conclave for children and youth, on Sunday.
The event was conducted as a part of the ‘climate assembly’ to be organised by UNICEF and Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday at the Kerala legislature complex. The state was badly affected when cyclone Ockhi hit its coast in 2017 and during the floods in 2018 and 2019. It is important to create awareness among the youth regarding natural calamities and to learn to survive and adapt to them.
The new generation has been taking measures like using green vehicles to tackle rising air pollution. “The Climate Conclave will set an example and mark the beginning of such movements in Kerala,” the minister said.
KL Rao, Chief of social policy of UNICEF in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, said that the cyclathon has been organised to spread the World Environment Day message - One Only Earth. Emergency specialists of UNICEF, Sarabjit Singh Sabota, Pratheesh C Maman and Prakash Gopinath were present.
75 cyclists from across the capital representing various cycling clubs in the city participated in the Cyclathon. The ‘climate assembly’ aims to ensure the participation of children and youths in preventing the hazards owing to climate change in the state.