Make Mother Earth Wear Green Saree, not Skirt – Dr T V Ramachandra
Moodbidri: Environment, Energy, Ecology are three key parameters for sustainable development. But, unfortunately, these three areas are under threat. Hence, it is high time to create awareness in the minds of the public, particularly children, policy makers and government, in order to have sustainable development said, Prof Byrappa, Vice Chancellor Mangaluru University.
He was speaking after inaugurating Lake 2016: International Conference on “Conservation and Sustainable Management of Ecologically Sensitive Regions in Western Ghats” Organized by Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Alva’s College Moodbidri and Alva’s Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mijar, on Wednesday, at the Dr V S Acharya, Auditorium, Vidyagiri, Moodbidri.
The environment is polluted due to various reasons. Man-made and natural calamities are adversely affecting our ecological system. He added and said, Urbanization has increased the population in urban areas leading to more use of water and sanitation facilities, resulting in environmental pollution and health hazards. At this juncture, man has to think of alternative energy or nonconventional energy. There is vast potential in India, our country is blessed with the enormous amount of sunlight, rain water and wind energy and it should be utilized properly, he stressed. Solar panels are made compulsory in every house for heating and lighting purpose, he added.
In his keynote address, Dr T V Ramachandra, CES, IISc Bengaluru and Chairman of Lake conference said, the western ghats are spread only in 2.5% of the total geographical area of India, but unfortunately we fail to protect this small biosphere. He added and said, make mother earth wear the green saree and don’t make her wear the skirt. Out of 5798 Crores GDP Of our country, the forest contributes only 3%, and it is very negligible. He advised the youth not to make the same mistakes our generation has being doing. An erroneous judgment has made to keep the Cauvery issue alive. Rejuvenating water bodies, lakes, ponds, and streams can really make the difference in preserving the water bodies and maintaining the temperature, he said.
Shri Sonda Swarnaswamiji Math, Sirsi, Swamiji Sri Gangadharendra Saraswathi said, “Encroachment of the lakes, low level of ground water and our mindset towards the environment are the three reasons for all our present problems. Water harvesting, green vegetation, planting more trees will retain the ground water. A strong law should be enforced towards the protection of the environment, he added. Kappadagudda and Yettinahole project should be dropped for the longer benefit of the society and environment, he urged.
Presiding over the programme, Alva’s Education Foundation Chairman Dr Mohan Alva Said, “Don’t cultivate anything for fashion, instead make it a passion, it may be hobbies or love towards the environment.”
Later in the session achievers Gopal Krishna Bhat, Harish Krishnamoorthy, Vishnu Mukhri and Alli Rani who served in academics, environmental and scientific fields were felicitated. The technical session was held after the formal programme. In the first technical session, Ananth Hegde Ashisar spoke about Conservation of the Western Ghats.
“You can be the change maker,” said M A Khan. Further during the interaction, he educated the audience about Mother Earth and the threats facing the Earth at present. He also spoke on the responsibilities of the people of the world towards nature. He included stories, examples and experiences. “Every drop creates an ocean’ Likewise the people of the earth should join hands to bring about a global action.
Taking over the sessions, Alli Rani, Vrjlal and Chaturvedi spoke on different topics. The sessions were interesting, educative and entertaining with a lot of information relayed to the young minds.
Sri Jain Math, Moodbidri Sri Bhattaraka Charukeerthi Pandithacharyavarya Swamiji, Environmentalist Suresh Heblikar, Legislator K Abhaychandra Jain, Former President WGTF Ananth Hegde Ashisar, Vagdedvi Foundation CEO Harish Krishnamurthy, Alva’s Education foundation Trustee Vivek Alva, Alva’s college Principal Prof Kurian, Vidyanikethan School Bengaluru CEO Vijay Rajagopalan among others were present.
