People urged to take care of planet earth

Kanuru (Krishna district): Noted environmentalist Prof K Purushottam Reddy participated in consultation workshop on ‘Green Manifesto-a direction to political parties in the context of general elections-2024’ at the Smt Velagapudi Durgamba Siddhartha Law College here on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Purushottam said that it is pathetic to know that there is no Environment Protection Act in India. The earth was a happy place before the Homo sapiens and with the entrance of Homo sapiens, the degradation of planet earth started, he said.

He lamented that the natural resources balance sheet was never introduced in Parliament in the long history of our democracy. Law College principal Prof Chennupati Divakar Babu, presiding over the meet, said that an action plan has been chalked out to save the environment.

Dr Donthi Narasimha Reddy of Council for Green Revolution said that every problem we face is directly linked to nature. Referring to water problem in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Reddy said that no other state in the country has five rivers flowing through like in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that every problem has social, environmental, science, ecological, market and sovereignty dimensions. “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are powerful instruments for leveraging transformative change. However, the political parties are yet to take cognisance of SDGs.”

On the Green Manifesto, Dr Reddy said that the Green Manifesto addresses three key dimensions of ecological sustainability, diversity and equity. It also emphasises on diversity and plurality of knowledge and expertise. Andhra Pradesh working journalist union president Venkatrao, convener of National Green Council Lakshma Reddy also spoke.