BENGALURU : Citizens, politicians and activists were among many who celebrated World Environment Day in the city on Sunday. Numerous nature walks, awareness programmes and mass sapling planting drives were undertaken. Activists at the Pattandur Agrahara Lake formed a human chain around the lake, protesting against the government’s failure to address the issues that would lead to the laying a road on the lake’s buffer zone.
Karnataka Governor Thawaarchand Gehlot planted a Rudhraksha and Champaka saplings at the Raj Bhavan, where he appealed for more people to plant trees. BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and other BBMP officials also hosted a similar sapling planting programme at Freedom Park.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) announced that they would take up plantation of 4,500 saplings in the next four months, as part of a large-scale afforestation programme. A flypast aircraft was also spotted at Lalbagh Botanical Garden on the occasion, with the words ‘Namma Bengaluru Swacha Bengaluru’ behind it. NCC in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka have spent the last week cleaning the areas around local water bodies and the seashores as part of the Puneet Sagar Abhiyan ahead of World Environment Day.
Meanwhile in Cubbon Park, the Horticulture Department and Cubbon Park Walkers Association jointly organised a programme where magistrate court judges undertook a plantation drive for the first time in Bengaluru. Collaboration was also made with Fortis Hospital, who have promised to keep an ambulance at the Park every Sunday to provide medical assistance to Sunday walkers.
Postal dept marks occasion
Chief Postmaster at General Post Office Himanshu Choudry and staff on Sunday planted saplings inside the premises of the garden of the GPO.
Rlys carries out tree plantation
Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division and Shilpi Singh, Divisional president, SWR Women’s Welfare Organisation today took part in a mass tree transplantation programme at Hindupur.
Ploggers clean trash near Vidhana Soudha
The Indian Ploggers Army, K K Education Centre and Hasiru Dala jointly carried out a campaign on June 4 for World Environment Day by collecting trash in Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park Road.
‘Give more prominence to eco news’
Bengaluru: Environmental news must be given more prominence on the front page of newspapers, especially with a rise in climate change, Karnataka Media Academy chairman and Press Club president Sadashiv Shenoy said. Speaking at a programme hosted by IIMB on Sunday, he said, “We don’t find environmental news on front pages, and it is not given as much importance as political, business or crime news.”